


Fate (Levi Ackerman x OC)

by DragonDungeon



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Detectives, F/M, Original Character(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-08 18:55:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 64,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17391827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonDungeon/pseuds/DragonDungeon
Summary: Himari Matsuzaki, a 22- year-old, who has no interest in love relationships after a break-up. Levi Ackerman, a 27-year-old, who seems to have a heart made of ice.These two strangers get set-up on a date because of their friends...but things don't exactly go right. And after a single date, they find themselves meeting on one too many occasions.With Levi being a detective, everything takes a strange turn when Himari gets tangled up in his murder case.Their paths cross like it was meant to be fate, and with a killer on the loose, time is ticking for one of their lives.





	1. Chapter 1

**Saturday morning**

**11.30AM**

A short female with long golden brown hair and chestnut coloured eyes was getting pulled along by a woman who was much taller than the shorter girl.

This taller woman had parted, disheveled-looking black hair styled into a ponytail, and had intimidating gray eyes. Her name is Ymir Fritz and she is 26 years old.

The shorter female whose hair was plaited in a single fishtail braid was 22 years old. For a woman her age, she was quite short, reaching just about 152cm, though her beauty made up for her short height. She was a very attractive young woman.

"Tell that fucking guy I'm sick!", the short female tried to run for it but Ymir caught the younger female.

An attractive woman with quite a sharp tongue.

Her name is Himari Matsuzaki.

"You're not running away this time.", Ymir picked up the short girl and swung the female over her shoulder like she weighed nothing.

"Oi Ymir! Put me down!", Himari began to hit Ymir's back.

"Krista open the door.", Ymir completely ignored the girl who was on her shoulder.

Next to the tall female with dark hair, was a blonde girl with large blue eyes. The blonde female was much smaller than the other two females, her height reaching around 145cm. Her name is Krista Lenz and she's 25 years old.

Krista opened the café door and let Ymir walk in while still carrying Himari on her shoulder.

The older girl finally set Himari down and before the shorter girl could escape for the second time this morning, Ymir blocked her way out.

Krista came over and fixed Himari's hair and adjusted the younger female's clothes.

"You look beautiful.", Krista gave Himari a smile.

Himari only clicked her tongue at this.

"Please can I just leave?", Himari asked, "I don't need a date.", she whined.

Ymir began pulling the girl inside again and Himari planted the heels of her boots on the ground, like a child getting dragged by her mother.

"Stop whining, I'll get you coffee.", Ymir said.

Himari paused.

"I'll take the coffee but I don't want a date.", she said.

"You'll like this guy, Hanji's personality description matches with yours.", Ymir said.

What had previously happened was that Ymir spoke about Himari to Hanji. 

Hanji being an old college friend of Ymir's, and after hearing about Himari's personality, Hanji had said that she knows a young man who would make a suitable partner.

Around 4 months ago, Himari had been in a relationship with someone but the male had broken up with the female because of her sharp tongue, since Himari has a tendency to say whatever is on her mind without really thinking.

After the break up, Himari had been upset at first but she soon got over it and focused on work only. Now, the 22-year-old had no plans on getting in a relationship again.

Although her friends had decided to set her up with someone so that Himari would go out more often, rather than stay locked up in her apartment during the weekends.

"I still don't want a date.", Himari whined.

Even though Himari had only been in that one single relationship, the female has given up in these kind of matters.

"At least ten minutes with the guy and you'll come to like him.", Ymir said.

Himari let out a small huff in annoyance as she went along with her friend.

Ymir looked around for her college friend, finding the female who was wearing square, thick-rimmed spectacles and was waving frantically. Ymir returned the wave before she looked around for the description that the besepctacled woman had told her.

She soon found the male fitting Hanji's description and led Himari to the seat.

The male had raven hair and was wearing a suit, his jacket having been neatly placed behind his chair. He was drinking his cup of coffee while looking out of the window.

Making sure the shorter girl didn't run away at the last second, Ymir waited until Himari had sat down opposite the male before the tall girl and blonde girl walked over to where Hanji was sitting.

The male sitting opposite Himari, lowered the cup he had been holding and placed it onto the table as he looked at the female who had joined him.

The intimidating steel grey eyes scanned over the female's face as Himari looked back at him.

Himari did admit to herself that the man sitting in front of her was handsome but that didn't change the female's mind on relationships.

She did not want a relationship whether the guy was handsome or not.

A waitress came over and Himari ordered herself a cup of coffee before looking out of the window.

...

"She's cute.", Hanji said, "And a perfect height for Shorty.", she said with a small grin.

"Well let's just hope that it goes well then.", Ymir said, glancing away from the pair that were sitting several tables away, "How's work going?", she asked.

"Lab work is the most interesting.", Hanji said, her eyes sparkled at a thought.

Ymir rolled her eyes.

"Of course it is, Miss. Scientist.", Ymir said sarcastically before looking back at her short friend at the other table.

Hanji, Ymir and Krista were sitting at the same table, all three looking over at the table where the pair were sitting to see whether this set-up date would turn out fine.

Hanji being the male's friend and Ymir being Himari's friend, the two college friends had set their friend up with the other.

They were hoping it'll go well since both the male's and Himari's personality matched.

So the three just watched over their friends to see how everything goes.

...

Meanwhile, a cup of coffee was placed in front Himari and the female thanked the waitress before looking at her drink.

Himari's phone was placed beside her on the table and her coat was unbuttoned but not removed.

The female silently drank her cup of coffee, and the male did the same.

Himari made a note on how strangely the raven haired male picked up his cup but did not comment on it.

...

**7 minutes later...**

"Why aren't they saying anything?", Krista asked.

"Maybe they're too shy.", Hanji said.

Ymir shook her head.

"No that girl is up to something.", Ymir said as she stared at her friend.

...

Both Himari and the male had been sitting and drinking their cups of coffee in silence.

Himari finished her drink and set the cup down before checking what time it was on her phone.

It was only then that she spoke up.

"Mister what's your name?", Himari asked.

At the table where the three females sat, both Hanji and Krista snorted in laughter at the question.

No one had expected that question.

Who would have thought that Himari would go on a date and not even remember what the male's name is?

It's not like she didn't remember, it was more like Himari just hadn't listened to Ymir who had given all the details about the male.

The 22-year-old was not interested so she brushed aside any information about the male.

"Levi Ackerman.", the male replied.

A flash of amusement had been visible in the steel grey eyes, but that was only visible for less than a second.

The raven haired male's expression was stoic, completely expressionless.

As we know, his name is Levi Ackerman, and he is 27 years old.

"I'll just be blunt here.", Himari began, "I have no interest in a relationship or this date.", she said, "You can make it easier on yourself and say to your friend or whoever set you up on this, that you don't like me.", Himari said before glancing over at Ymir then looking back at the male, "Ah, but here's the cash for my drink.", she reached into her pocket and placed the cash on the table.

Himari's phone vibrated.

The female had set a timer which lasted 10 minutes and it was now over.

"And that's the time.", Himari gave the male a smile as she stood up, sending a small smirk in Ymir's direction before leaving the café.

"That girl.", Ymir muttered as she facepalmed.

Ymir had said to stay for 10 minutes and Himari literally timed the 10 minutes before escaping.

Levi's lips twitched up into a small smirk which lasted a split second before he stood as he put on his suit jacket.

Placing his share of cash on the table, the raven haired male walked out of the café with his hands in his pocket.

"Well that didn't go well.", Hanji said.

All three females sighed at this.

....

**Several days later...**

It was a Tuesday morning, around 10AM, and Himari was at her workplace. 

She works at Maria Pharmaceutical Company, a well-known commercial company that's licensed to research, develop, market and/or distribute drugs, in the context of healthcare obviously.

So Himari was walking down the corridor with a clipboard at hand, doing one of her daily reports. 

The female was too busy looking at the papers that she had just filled in, that the younger girl did not look where she was walking as she turned a corner.

She walked into something firm and the female almost stumbled back but caught herself in time. Himari rubbed her nose as she looked up at the person with a glare.

"Oi look where you're goi- Mister?", Himari tilted her head as she looked at the male who was standing in front of her.

It was none other than Levi Ackerman.

Now that the raven haired male was standing up, the height difference between Levi and Himari was very obvious. The raven haired male was at least a head taller than the female.

Next to him stood Hanje Zoë, preferably called Hanji and is 26 years old.

Himari looked from the male then to the female, recognising the raven haired male from a few days ago and vaguely remembering Hanji who had been joined by Ymir and Krista.

"You're?", Himari pointed with a small frown.

"I'm Hanji.", the scientist chirped up with a grin as Levi stood there silently, "I don't think we met the other day.", Hanji stuck out her hand and Himari shook it, "And you remember Levi.", the older woman said.

"Err..yeah.", Himari felt slightly awkward after seeing the male.

I mean she had gone ahead and rejected the male without even getting to know him.

"So you work here?", Hanji asked.

"Yeah.", Himari replied, "Got an ID card and everything.", she showed them her lanyard that hung around her neck.

Himari was also wearing a white lab coat and it looked quite adorable on the short female but no one made a comment on that.

"You two don't work here though.", Himari had stated instead of asked.

"That's right.", Hanji said, "We're detectives or you can call us officers.", she showed the younger girl her badge, "This guy's the boss.", Hanji pointed to Levi who only stayed silent while keeping his hands in his pocket.

The raven haired male was wearing a well ironed suit and his eyes were on the shorter girl.

"So what are detectives doing at a pharmaceutical company?", Himari asked.

"We're here for investigation reasons.", Hanji replied, "Since you work here, could you tell us where Mr. Tamura's office is?", the scientist asked.

"Which one?", Himari asked, "There are two people with the names Mr. Tamura.", she said.

Hanji pulled out her notebook, scanning over her scribbles of notes.

"First name is Mokuami.", Hanji read off, "Mokuami Tamura.", she said.

"Well then you guys are in the wrong block.", Himari said with an amused smile, "I can show you the way, I'm heading to that block anyways.", she said.

"That'd be great!", Hanji exclaimed.

Himari walked past and the two detectives followed behind.

"You could get lost in this large building.", Hanji spoke up as they walked in silence.

"You get used to it after a while.", Himari glanced back, "Once you know where the blocks are, it's quite easy to make your way around.", she said as she headed towards the staircase.

Stopping by the staircase, Himari looked back at the two detectives.

"The office is on the first floor, fourth room on the right.", Himari said, "I'm heading downstairs.", she said.

"Thanks for the help.", Hanji said.

Himari gave a smile before she turned around and headed down the steps while going back to reading the papers on her clipboard.

Hanji and Levi headed upstairs and the raven haired male glanced back at the short girl.

Two male workers were walking upstairs, past Himari before one wolf-whistled as the female walked by. The two males then proceeded in laughing, but Himari didn't seem to have heard them as she continued to walk on.

Levi's eyes fell on the two males before he followed Hanji upstairs.

....

**Several hours later...**

It was lunch time now and Himari was at the canteen, eating lunch with her friends.

"Hey, does anyone know what kind of investigation is going on here?", Himari asked.

The group of girls consisted of Ymir Fritz, Krista Lenz, Sasha Blouse and Mikasa Ackerman were sitting together at the table.

Sasha Blouse being a tall brunette and is 24 years old.

Mikasa Ackerman is a tall raven haired girl and is 23 years old.

_(Although Mikasa has the same surname as Levi, they're not related at all.)_

"Investigation?", Krista repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, this morning I saw two detectives.", Himari said, "Ymir, you know that guy that you tried to set me up with and your college friend, it was those two.", she said.

"Hanji was here?", Ymir asked with a small frown.

"They're probably here for that murder case.", Sasha spoke up with a mouthful of food, but no one commented on her lack of manners as they were so used to it by now.

"What murder case?", Himari asked.

"Do you remember those higher up people who attended the board meeting last week?", Sasha spoke up after swallowing her food, "That guy...what was his name again?", she frowned slightly, "Oh yeah, Mr. Fukui Korin.", Sasha said.

"The guy with the white beard and moustache?", Himari asked, vaguely remembering that name.

"Yep.", Sasha replied, "Anyways, that guy was found murdered on Sunday so I think the officers are just going through his recent schedule.", she said, "They probably found out that he came here for a board meeting and just wanted to find out the details.", Sasha said.

"For someone who's always concerned about food, you're well informed.", Ymir said.

Sasha grinned at this.

"Rumours travel fast.", Sasha said.

Once they were done eating, the five went their separate ways.

Ymir and Krista belonging to the same department, Sasha another department, then Himari and Mikasa in the same department.

As Himari and Mikasa walked together, the raven haired girl spoke up.

"You didn't like the date?", Mikasa asked.

"Its not that I didn't like it, I just wasn't interested.", Himari said, "I can see what Ymir and the others are trying to do, but I'm seriously not looking to get into a relationship with anyone at the moment.", she said, "And the odds of seeing him again. Yep that felt really awkward.", Himari said.

"If we're talking about rumours then I heard that a good-looking officer was here this morning.", Mikasa said with a small smirk.

Himari rolled her eyes.

She knew that the older girl was just teasing her because after the date on Saturday, Himari had told Mikasa that the guy was good-looking and now the raven haired girl is not letting it go.

"Yes yes, a handsome officer after a murderous man.", Himari said.

The two females just laughed it off as they headed back to work.

...

**The next morning...**

Himari was walking with Sasha, to do a few tests for one of the new medications, when the potato girl elbowed the shorter girl.

The younger girl followed Sasha's gaze and looked at the two male workers who walked by with bruises on their faces.

Those men were the same ones who had whistled after checking Himari out, and now they were all bruised up.

As their eyes met Himari's, the two males quickly walked past.

"The fuck happened to them?", Himari asked once they were gone.

"No idea but they came like that earlier this morning.", Sasha said, "Maybe a bar fight.", she said, "But Himari, wasn't it those two guys who kept on picking on you?", Said asked.

"Hmm.", Himari hummed in response, "Yeah.", she glanced back at the two guys before shrugging, "Oh well that's one less problem.", she brushed it off as she walked on with the older girl.

As Sasha was about to head back to the her department, Himari called her back.

"Oi Blouse.", Himari called back, "Make sure to check on the doses for sample number 5 and 7.", she reminded the female.

"Aye Aye.", Sasha gave a wave as she walked in the other direction.

Himari walked down the corridor, looking at the papers in her arms yet again, while twirling with the pen in her right hand.

And just like the day before, the short girl turned the corner, almost colliding with the person coming from the opposite direction.

"Woah.", Himari stepped back before bumping into the person as she looked up.

Yet again, Levi Ackerman stood in front of her but he was alone this time.

"Mister, we should stop bumping into each other like this.", Himari said with a small smile as she walked past, "Where's your friend?", she was referring to Hanji.

"Shitty Glasses is busy.", the raven haired male said.

Himari glanced back at the male who had also turned his head to look back at the girl.

The female didn't make any comment on the use of a very strange nickname since that wasn't any of her business.

"Are you here for investigation reasons again?", Himari asked, changing the subject.

"Something along those lines.", Levi said.

It was quite a strange reply for Himari so she decided to leave it at that and go back to work.

"Well then don't get lost.", Himari walked away as she gave a small wave.

Levi's lips twitched up into a small smirk like back at the café before his expression returned back to his usual stoic face and he continued to walk in the other direction.

"Himari, computers G3 and G8 are busted.", a male worker had walked up to the short girl followed by another female.

"What? Again?", Himari asked, "I just fixed it last week.", she said, "Seriously what is up with these fucked up computers?", Himari said with a sigh.

"We saved all the data so that should still be intact.", the female who had walked with the male spoke up.

Levi had paused in his steps long ago, before he retraced them back.

He looked back at the short female who was speaking to her colleagues.

"Miss. Matsuzaki.", the raven haired male said.

Himari's conversation with the other two stopped as she glanced back at the detective who stood there, the female then looked at the other two.

"Go on ahead, I'll come to check it out in a minute.", Himari said.

They gave her a nod, giving one last glance at the raven haired male before walking away.

Levi began approaching Himari.

"Wait, how did you know my last name?", Himari asked with a small frown, not remembering having mentioned it to the male.

"I keep my information up to date.", Levi said as he stood in front of her.

Himari's frown only deepened at this.

"So what, did you do some kind of background check on the workers here for your investigation?", she asked.

Himari had caught a glimpse of amusement in his eyes.

"I only do a background check on those that I'm interested in.", Levi said.

She stared at him with confusion, wondering whether she had heard right since this got a whole lot weirder for her.

"What?", Himari asked.

"I asked if you could tell me the directions to where Mr. Mokuami Tamura's office is again.", Levi said.

Himari blinked.

"Huh? Err...t-that's just down the corridor and then take the first flight of stairs.", Himari said.

"Thank you.", Levi said before walking away.

Another smirk made its way onto the male's face as he walked away.

Himari stared back at the raven haired male in the formal attire, scratching her head in confusion before walking away. 

She was pretty sure that he had said something else...and was that meant to be a flirtatious line?

But Himari did _not_ understand what had just happened in the past five minutes.

With a shrug, Himari brushed it off, unaware of the steel grey eyes which were looking at her with slight amusement.


	2. Chapter 2

Himari had completely forgotten about her encounter with the raven haired male...well she had almost forgotten until she saw him talking to one of the higher ups from her company.

The female stared at the two, her chestnut coloured eyes falling on the raven haired male.

She soon frowned.

'What does the murder of that guy have to do with our company?', Himari thought to herself since the frequent visits felt quite strange for the short female.

The 22-year-old hadn't realised that she had been staring at the male the whole time so when he looked in her direction, Himari's heart almost jumped out of her chest for having been caught staring.

She quickly diverted her eyes away, missing the small smirk on his face as Himari walked away in slight awkwardness.

...

With her work hours finally over, Himari was going home with Mikasa, the raven haired girl climbed into the driver's seat of the car while the shorter girl sat beside her.

As the older girl drove home, Himari went through her phone, typing in ' _Fukui Korin_ ' into the search engine. Several articles came up in the results sections and the female chose the article that had been presented first.

She read through it in silence.

"Listen to this.", Himari told Mikasa, "Mr. Korin was found stabbed and strangled several blocks away from his home. Multiple knife wounds had been inflicted to the man's abdomen and a bruise the width of an inch was found around Mr. Korin's neck.", Himari read out the line from the article.

She then turned to her friend.

"It's quite odd, isn't it?", Himari said, "Stabbing the man and also strangling him.", she said, "Why go through all that trouble when only one of those methods would have killed the man anyways?", the female asked.

Mikasa stopped at a red traffic light.

"Maybe they wanted something from him.", Mikasa said.

"Ah that's right, he is the Chairman of one of our co-founding companies.", Himari said, "Maybe whoever did this wanted the money.", she said.

"And now they're investigating our higher-ups to see whether there was some sort of scandal.", Mikasa glanced at her friend, almost doing a double take when she looked out of the window that Himari was sitting next to.

As the raven haired girl turned back to the road ahead, there was a small smirk on her face.

"Himari look to your right.", Mikasa said.

The short female turned her head to the right and saw the raven haired male sitting in the driver's seat in the car beside them.

"Ah shit.", Himari muttered before looking away as she sent a glare towards Mikasa.

The raven haired girl only found this amusing.

Himari was more than glad when Levi didn't notice her as the traffic lights turned green and the male's car sped past ad such a speed.

"Crazy bastard.", Himari muttered after seeing how fast that he drove past.

Levi was driving a black Lamborghini Aventador, one of the recent models. This made Himari wonder what kind of detective was rich enough to get an expensive car like that.

Rolling her eyes at this, Himari went back to scrolling through the articles on the internet.

...

**The next day...**

It was lunchtime at the Pharmaceutical company and Himari was eating with her friends.

Chatters from the nearby table seemed to have caught her friends' attention.

"Everyone's talking about that male detective.", Krista said.

Himari didn't take an interest in the conversation.

"Well all those girls are trying to hit it off with that guy.", Sasha said.

From the table next to theirs, what seemed like the popular group of girls, they were all talking about the male detective.

"Have you seen his jawline?", one female said.

"Oh my god.", another female fangirled.

"Did you see the car he drove in today?", a female said, "He must be loaded to own one of the Lamborghini's latest models.", she said.

"Petra, you should _so_ ask him out.", another said, "He's got the looks and the money.", she said, "And with a pretty face like yours, I doubt he'd reject you.", the female said.

Petra Ral is a short blonde girl and is 24 years old, her height being around 158cm. She would be one of those typical popular girls who just go by looks, although this blonde female was quite kind-hearted.

And soon enough, the squealing of the girls increased when the subject of their conversation was walking into the canteen. 

Levi was walking in with his hands in his pocket as he looked around at the tables of workers.

"He's coming! He's coming!", one of them said excitedly. 

A few of the girls began fixing their hair.

One of the girls gasped.

"Petra I think he's coming to you.", one said excitedly.

But that was not the case at all.

Himari kept her head down as she ate her food, her brain praying to God that he wasn't coming anywhere near her table.

Petra's table of girls were left shocked when Levi stopped at the table where Himari was sitting.

The raven haired male stood at the short female's table and Himari's friends sniggered slightly once seeing the shocked expression of the popular girls.

Himari looked up at the male who stood at the end of her table, the pair of chopsticks still in her mouth.

Levi looked at the short female before he glanced at her friends.

"May I borrow Miss. Matsuzaki for a couple of minutes?", Levi asked.

"Of course, go ahead.", Ymir replied, receiving a glare from Himari but the taller girl just gave her a smile.

Levi turned to the short female again.

Himari swallowed her food, glancing at her other friends for help but everyone was quite glad to send her away with the handsome detective.

"I'm a bit busy at the moment.", Himari said, before she turned to her food again.

Levi stared at her for a few more seconds before looking at Krista who was sitting next to Himari.

Sensing what the gaze was for, Krista stood up with her tray of food and moved to the seat beside Mikasa.

The raven haired male then took the seat beside Himari, making the shorter girl stiffen.

"I'll wait.", Levi said.

Himari glanced at the other girls who seemed to be staring at her with a smile.

Hushed whispers could be heard from the nearby tables and the short female was getting uncomfortable. 

She sighed before placing her chopsticks down.

"T'ch let's go.", Himari said as she stood up.

Levi stood up and followed the female out of the canteen.

"I'll look after your food Himari.", Sasha called out.

Himari rolled her eyes at this, knowing full well that the brunette was going to eat her lunch.

Once they were outside the canteen, Himari turned to the detective.

"Seriously, what do you want now?", Himari asked.

Levi looked at her with a small smirk before his face soon got expressionless.

"The board meeting that took place just over 2 weeks ago.", Levi began, "Did Mr. Fukui Korin arrive and leave alone?", he asked.

Himari paused as she thought back to that day.

Remembering back to the old man who had prominent white hair, a thick white beard and moustache, Himari tried to recall whether the man had arrived with someone.

"No he didn't.", Himari replied, "He came with this tall man.", she said, "The guy wasn't a secretary because he didn't go into the room but he waited by the door.", the female paused, "I think it was his bodyguard.", Himari said.

Levi was seen thinking about something.

"I see.", he said.

Himari stared at the male.

"Is that all?", she asked.

"That's all.", Levi said before reaching into his suit pocket and handing Himari a card, "If anything comes to mind, give us a call.", he said.

She looked at the card in her hand before looking up at the male.

"Shouldn't you give this to the board members since they were the ones who actually attended the meeting?", Himari asked.

He smirked slightly.

"It'd be more suitable if you have it.", he said before walking away.

She looked back at him with a frown before looking at the card.

The name 'Survey Corps' was written on it along with a phone number at the bottom.

Himari sighed before slipping the card into her pocket as she headed back to work.

...

**A few hours later...**

The 22-year-old had finished with her work and had told Mikasa to head home first.

Himari and Mikasa lived together in an apartment, sharing out the rent price together since they were close friends.

The shorter female said that she had things to pick up for her computer so as Himari headed to the computer shops, Mikasa headed home in her car.

The 22-year-old was walking down the quiet road when a black car and a black van pulled up by the pavement.

"Miss.", a man had rolled down his window as he sat in the car.

Himari looked back at the man.

"Are you Miss. Himari Matsuzaki?", the man asked. 

"Yeah.", she replied, not recognising the man in the car who seemed to know her name.

"Do you know Levi Ackerman?", he asked as he showed Himari the exact card that Levi had given her just a few hours ago.

The female looked at the card.

"Yeah, what about him?", Himari asked.

And just like that, two men stepped out of the van and grabbed the short female.

Himari's shouts were muffled by a hand as the female was pulled into the van before both the car and van drove off.

...

**Some time later...**

Himari was sat on a bench in a nightclub.

It seems the men who had just kidnapped her owned the nightclub since the room was just filled with the thugs.

The man, who had been in the car, was sitting on the bench opposite Himari's and had just dialled a number, before putting the phone to his ear.

As the call went through, the man smirked like an evil maniac.

 _ **"Mr. Ackerman."**_ , the man said.

Himari looked up at mention of the name.

 ** _"I have your girl."_** , the man said.

The female clicked her tongue at this.

Himari did not look scared after being kidnapped, it seems that she looked more pissed than afraid.

 ** _"My girl?"_** , Levi repeated.

The raven haired male was standing just outside a courthouse.

 ** _"I have Miss. Matsuzaki with me."_** , the man said.

 ** _"Do you now?"_** , Levi said, his facial expression not faltering even the slightest.

 ** _"If you testify, I'll kill her."_** , the man said.

 ** _"And I'm supposed to believe you if you say that you have Miss. Matsuzaki with you?"_** , Levi asked.

The man directed the phone towards Himari.

"Speak to your man.", the man told the female.

"For fuck's sake.", Himari said with a sigh, "You're really beginning to piss me off. I'll fucking break your mouth.", two men held her arms back before she lashed out at their leader.

The male had flinched slightly but held the phone to his ear again as if nothing happened.

There was a small smirk on Levi's face.

 ** _"She sounds well."_** , Levi said.

 ** _"Listen here Levi."_** , the man said, **_"For every minute you're late in getting here, I will remove one of her organs."_** , he said.

There was no pause as Levi responded back the next second.

 ** _"Go ahead."_** , Levi said.

The man's smile dropped as he looked at his men before standing up and taking the call where his men weren't nearby.

 _ **"Really?"**_ , the man asked quietly since this wasn't going according to plan.

 ** _"Miss. Matsuzaki is not my girl."_** , Levi said, _ **"I just happened to have met her by chance a few times."**_ , he said, **_"So do what you like."_** , he said before hanging up.

The leader of the gang blinked, for what seemed like shock as well as surprise.

The man stared at the cut phone call before he walked back to where Himari was sitting. 

"Are really you, not his girl?", the man asked her.

Himari clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Is that bastard not coming?", she asked.

The man's phone vibrated and he smiled as he showed the screen to the female.

"Looks like he's being a gentleman now.", the man said before taking the call.

 ** _"You've put me in a bad mood so tell me where you are now."_** , Levi said.

...

Once the phone call ended, Levi turned to the group of officers who stood behind him.

"Don't let the trial start until I get back with Himari.", Levi said. 

"Yes sir.", they saluted as Levi walked to his car.

...

The raven haired male drove at full speed in his Lamborghini Aventador as he reached the nightclub.

It was dark in the room as Levi walked down the steps with his hands in his pocket. A bright light was shone on his face and Levi squinted at the sudden brightness and he used his hand to create shade over his eyes.

"Levi it's been a while.", the man behind the kidnapping spoke up.

The raven haired male clicked his tongue as he reached the bottom of the staircase.

A bright light was next shone to where Himari had now been tied up.

Himari was standing against a pole with her hands tied behind her back.

"You're causing a lot of trouble by testifying against my boss.", the leader of the group said, "Now what are you going to do to wreck our plan?", he asked.

Levi smirked slightly as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Like Mike Tyson had once said.", Levi began as he loosened his tie, "Everyone has a plan...'till they get punched in the mouth.", his eyes turned cold as the first thug ran over.

A single punch sent the thug flying into the tables.

There was around 15 men, and even though Levi was just one man, the raven haired male seemed to have the strength of over 10 men.

So the officer punched and kicked his way past the men, heading to the direction of where Himari was tied up.

Grunts and shouts of pain was heard as Levi broke some of the thugs' jaws with his fist. The raven haired male kicked another guy in the guts, as the officer climbed onto the stage-like platform. 

He twisted another man's arm, shoving the man off the platform as he made his way towards Himari.

"Are you alright?", Levi asked as he began untying the ropes around the female's wrists.

"Yeah.", she replied.

A thug ran towards them and Levi punched the man across the face.

"Levi!", Himari shouted out as a glass bottle was smashed against Levi's head.

The raven haired male stumbled back and Himari kicked the broken glass bottle off the man's hand, making him drop the rest of the bottle on the floor.

She flinched when the male was about to hit her but Levi kicked the man off the platform, sending him crashing into the wall.

The officer took Himari's hand as they ran out of the nightclub, leaving a group of badly injured thugs behind.

...

**A few minutes later...**

Levi was driving and Himari was sitting on the seat beside him.

The two were silent for a while before the male spoke up.

"You don't have to thank me for saving you.", Levi said.

There seemed to be amusement in the raven haired male's voice.

"T'ch, I was kidnapped because of you, so of course, you had to come.", Himari said, "So you don't have to apologise since you saved me after all.", she said.

Levi smirked slightly.

Himari watched the male's face contort in pain for a second as he lightly rubbed the back of his neck.

The female opened her bag and took out a clean handkerchief, taking it in her left hand, she placed it against the back of Levi's head.

The male glanced at the female, lips twitching up into a small smirk before he looked at the road ahead.

"So you're a detective who gets into a lot of fights?", Himari said, still keeping the handkerchief in place.

She had taken note of the way Levi fought, and he seemed to be like an expert, considering the fact that the raven haired male took down 15 men in just under 10 minutes.

"I don't start the fights.", Levi said.

Himari removed the handkerchief and looked at it to find blood on it. The female folded it in half before placing it against the male's head again.

"You just finish them.", Himari said.

...

The two soon arrived at the courthouse and the female glanced at Levi as she followed him inside.

A tall male with light grey eyes and silver blond hair walked up to Levi.

His eyes briefly landed on the short female before he looked at the raven haired male.

"The judge has just taken her seat.", the male informed the raven haired male, "They'll be calling you up in about two minutes.", he said as they entered a courtroom.

"There was no problem?", Levi asked.

"We took care of everything.", the male replied quietly.

"Thanks.", the raven haired male said.

As Levi headed to where the prosecutor was sitting, the blond male told Himari where to sit.

"This way Miss.", the male pointed to one of the benches where the audience would sit.

Himari glanced at the tall male before taking the seat, the blond male joined his colleagues on the bench behind the one Himari was sitting on.

She watched the prosecutor talking, a tall blond male with icy blue eyes. His thick eyebrows were slightly furrowed in a frown as he was speaking.

Levi was sitting in the audience section, not yet called to the stand.

When the prosecutor sat down, the defence attorney stood up, calling Levi to the witness stand.

The raven haired male sat on the witness stand and before the defence attorney could speak up, Himari stood up.

"Your Honour.", Himari spoke up, with everyone's attention going to the short female, "Err..ma'am.", she said, not knowing how to address the judge, "Mr. Ackerman got injured in a fight caused by one of the defendant's men while trying to save me. Could you not treat the wound on his head before questioning him?", she asked.

Blood was slowly sliding down Levi's temple but the raven haired male did not feel faint.

The Judge glanced at the officer.

"Your Honour, we've already started the trial so late because of the trouble that's been caused earlier today.", the defence attorney said.

"Sir, then would you take responsibility if Mr. Ackerman's untreated injury causes him to suffer from long-term health effects?", she asked the defence attorney, "There's the possibility of physical difficulties as well as emotional and mental issues.", she said, "Depending on how severe the injury is, symptoms also include a loss of vision or hearing, as well as stuttering and a loss of speech.", as Himari began to list all the possible consequences if Levi doesn't get treated, the defence attorney gulped in fear.

Levi smirked at this and his colleagues, who sat behind the bench that Himari was standing, quietly chuckled at the female's words.

"We'll take a ten-minute recess.", the Judge said as she stood up to leave the courtroom.

...

**Some time later...**

Levi was sitting on a stool as a nurse finished cleaning up his wound.

"You're lucky it's a minor injury.", the nurse said.

The raven haired male rubbed the back of his neck as it was still sore.

Himari stood up from her chair and walked over to the raven haired male. 

"You even got blood on your shirt.", she said.

Levi stood up and Himari handed his suit jacket to him.

"Those were quite the symptoms that you listed.", Levi said.

The male put the jacket on before he looked at the female.

"Apparently those are the perks of working at a pharmaceutical company.", Himari said, "You get to know most of the medical knowledge.", she said.

Levi smirked lightly.

"Sir, you're called to the stand.", a male voice was heard from the other side of the door.

Levi clicked his tongue as he headed out with Himari behind.

**An hour or so later...**

With the trial over, Himari was taking a phone call as she stood at the entrance of the courtroom while Levi was inside speaking to the prosecutor.

The prosecutor's name is Erwin Smith, aged 28 and a friend of Levi's.

"That's the girl isn't it?", Erwin asked.

Levi glanced back at the female.

"Hmm.", he hummed in response with an amused smirk.

_**Meanwhile with Himari...** _

She was speaking to Mikasa, the raven haired girl having grown worried since the short female hadn't returned home yet.

 ** _"A few things came up, but I'm heading back soon."_** , Himari said.

 ** _"You're not hurt are you?"_** , Mikasa asked.

 ** _"No I'm fine."_** , Himari replied, ** _"I'll tell you everything once I get back."_** , she said.

 ** _"If that midget hurts you, I'll break him into pieces."_** , Himari could hear Mikasa's death threats which were directed towards the Levi.

Himari smiled lightly.

 ** _"Don't worry, I'll be home soon."_** , she reassured her friend.

 ** _"Call me back as soon as you reach our apartment."_** , Mikasa said.

 ** _"Yep, I will."_** , Himari said before saying goodbye then hanging up.

...

"Are you going to tell her soon?", Erwin asked.

"Not yet.", Levi replied before heading to where Himari was standing, "I'll send over the files so check over them.", the male called back.

_There are still a lot of secrets that needs to be revealed._


	3. Chapter 3

Levi walked over to where Himari was standing, the female having just hung up the phone call with Mikasa.

The short female turned to the male who had just stepped out of the courtroom.

"I'm heading home now.", Himari said, "Please stop getting me involved in your business.", she said before beginning to walk towards the bus stop.

Levi smirked lightly.

"Miss. Matsuzaki, I'm sure we will meet again.", the male said.

Himari glanced back at Levi, giving him a small glare before she continued to walk away.

The raven haired male watched the female head to the bus stop, before he ran his hand through his hair, walking to his car.

"You're not going with her?", the male with the silver blond hair asked the raven haired male.

Levi glanced back at the male, then looked in the direction that Himari had walked in.

"She'll come back.", Levi replied.

...

**The next day...**

After the day that Levi had walked up to Himari in front of everyone at the canteen of her company, it seems that almost every single girl had their attention on the short female.

Himari avoided their gaze as she tagged along with Sasha and Mikasa, still being able to feel eyes from the others.

"What is up with these girls?", Himari muttered quietly.

"You got the attention of the handsome man so everyone is just jealous of you.", Sasha replied with a small grin.

"Fuck that guy.", Himari said.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad.", Sasha said, "He seems to be interested in you.", she said.

"T'ch that guy is getting me involved in his problems.", Himari said, as her thoughts went back to what happened yesterday.

First, she got kidnapped, then Levi had come to save her, getting injured in the process, so Himari began to wonder what exactly did the officer need with her.

Was it just a mere coincidence that the officer seems to show up wherever she is?

Or was there something more to it?

Himari decided that it'd be best if she doesn't concern herself with these kinds of things. 

At the moment, she had several reports and data files to complete so she decided to worry about completing her work on time.

Mikasa nudged Himari lightly.

The short female following her friend's gaze.

"Ah for fuck's sake.", Himari muttered before she sighed in frustration.

Levi and Ymir's friend, Hanji, were standing at the end of the corridor. It looked like they were speaking to someone but the three girls weren't able to see who they were speaking to as the wall blocked their view.

"Anyways, Blouse I'm going to go and finish those lab reports that you sent over.", Himari told the brunette.

"Alright, I'll send the rest in a few hours.", Sasha said.

"Mikasa, you need to finish section C from Report 9 and once you're done, print it off for me.", Himari said.

The two females walked off, their conversation being about work as Sasha was going to head in the opposite direction to go to her own department.

The brunette glanced back at the officers and noticed Levi glance in the direction that Himari had walked off in, before looking ahead again.

Sasha grinned at the male's behaviour before she continued walking with a smile.

** A few hours later... **

When Himari was walking by herself down the corridor, she was stopped several times by females who kept on asking her questions about Levi.

The short female sighed, finally having enough.

"There's literally nothing going on between us.", Himari told the two females who stood in front of her, "So you lot can do whatever you like, alright?", she said before walking away.

Himari wasn't very comfortable when all the attention was on her, so having the raven haired male create quite the chaos at her workplace, the female wasn't too keen on the gossip which she seemed to be the subject of.

So when it came to the end of the day, Himari felt quite at ease when Mikasa accompanied her to a café so that they can get a drink before engrossing themselves in their reports that needed completion once getting home.

Himari was about to head to the counter to order a drink when she spotted a familiar raven head.

The short female's gaze went to the male officer who had just put on his jacket.

It was none other than Levi, the male being with two of his colleagues. One which Himari recognised as Ymir's friend, Hanje Zoë. The second person standing beside Hanji was a tall male with short dark brown hair and teal-green eyes.

Himari's eyes instantly fell on the tall male.

"Eren.", her voice came up as a whisper.

The short girl tapped Mikasa who was about to order their drinks.

"Mikasa, it's Eren.", Himari said.

It was the first time the raven haired girl actually showed an expression as she followed Himari's eyes.

Hanji noticed the short female, grinning widely before telling Levi.

"Shorty, look who's there.", Hanji said.

Levi turned around, his steel grey eyes landing on the short female.

But before the raven haired male could react, it was the tall male whose eyes had widened for a second before a bright smile made its way onto his face. 

"Mikasa! Himari!", the tall male ran up to the two females.

Levi then glanced at Hanji but the scientist just shrugged.

With the tall male standing in front of them, Himari spoke up first.

"Eren what the fuck? What have you been doing for so long?", Himari asked.

The male, Eren Yeager, a 25-year-old, scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry I was so busy with preparing for the interviews that I didn't have time to call.", Eren said.

"You seriously got us worried.", Himari said.

"I was meant to call you guys to tell you about the new job I got but I completely forgot.", he said.

Levi and Hanji approached Eren who was speaking to the two females.

"Friends of yours?", Hanji swung her arm over Eren's shoulder.

"Yeah.", he looked back at the scientist, "This is Mikasa.", gesturing to the raven haired girl, "And Himari.", Eren said.

"We've actually met before.", Himari said, glancing at Levi who was already staring at her.

The short female then looked back at Eren.

"Do you perhaps work with them?", Himari asked.

"Ah yeah.", Eren replied with a bright smile, "I joined about 3 weeks ago, though I'm still getting used to things.", he said.

"Why don't you both come and see our workplace?", Hanji asked.

"Err...", Himari glanced at Mikasa, "No thank you, that's alright.", she looked back at the scientist.

"Don't be shy, I'm sure you want to look at where your friend works.", Hanji said.

...

**Some time later...**

Himari and Mikasa had been persuaded...more like forcibly insisted on visiting the officers' workplace.

So as Mikasa parked the car to the address that the scientist had given them, Himari looked up at the building.

"It looks run-down.", Himari commented.

The building indeed looked run-down, looking over 40 years old. There was a stationery shop open on the ground floor of the building.

Himari and Mikasa looked around.

"Are you sure we're at the right place?", Himari asked.

"That's what the woman said.", Mikasa glanced at the piece of paper that the scientist had written on.

Seeing the right address, the two females began to wonder where exactly was the officers' workplace.

"Over here!", Hanji shouted over, standing by the door that was right next to the stationery shop.

The two friends looked at each other before following the scientist who had disappeared out of sight.

They walked three flights of staircases, following after Hanji who led them to a door.

There was an ancient scissor gate, which was used for elevator doors that you had to manually open in the olden days.

After sliding that open, Hanji opened the metal door that was behind the scissor gate.

She stepped in, gesturing the two females to follow her.

Himari walked in first, followed by Mikasa.

The short female looked around in slight awe.

Even though the building was very old, the inside of the officers' working environment was very clean.

Four rectangular tables had been placed together to create a bigger rectangular table. Stacks of papers and boxes covered the huge table.

A staircase on the left was seen to lead upstairs, then to the right side of the room was two other private rooms.

One room had a single rectangular table, which seemed like an interrogation room. The other room held a table at the centre; then a fridge, microwave and several chairs on the side. This was probably their break room.

After taking in the details of the objects, Himari looked around at the people who worked here.

"I'll introduce everyone.", Hanji said, "This is Isabel Magnolia.", the scientist said while pointing to a female.

Isabel Magnolia has green eyes and red-brown hair, her short hair being tied in two pigtails. This female is 25 years old.

"This is Furlan Church.", Hanji next said.

This was the same male that Himari had seen back at the courthouse. He had light grey eyes and silver blond hair and was aged 27.

"Next we have Armin Arlert.", Hanji said.

This was a blond male with large hazel eyes, his height being 163 cm and he is 26 years old.

"That's basically it, there's just six of us.", Hanji said before she turned to her colleagues, "This is Himari and Mikasa.", the scientist told the others.

Just then Levi came down the staircase.

Out of all the six officers, only Levi was dressed in a suit, the rest being in quite the casual attire.

"Shitty Glasses, stop creating a scene.", the raven haired male said as the scientist had gotten the other officers to stop working, "Get back to work.", he then told the others.

Levi headed to the break room and Hanji whispered quietly.

"Feel free to look around.", Hanji said with a grin before heading back to her workload.

Himari walked further into the room as she looked around while Eren and Mikasa chatted to each other, catching up with everything.

A mug of hot coffee was handed to the short female and Himari looked up as she took it.

"Thanks.", Himari said with a small smile at the female with the red-brown hair who had handed it to her.

Isabel handed the second mug to Mikasa before approaching Himari again.

"So are you guys private detectives?", Himari asked.

"Yes, quite similar to that.", Isabel replied, "We literally take on any odd cases.", she said.

"What's the reason for working in such an old building then?", Himari asked before taking a sip of the warm drink.

"It's a nice place to blend into.", Isabel replied.

Himari looked at the mug which she held with two hands.

"This is some really good coffee.", Himari said.

Isabel smirked lightly at this.

"Bro will be happy to hear that.", Isabel said quietly.

"Hmm?", Himari looked up at the female, not having heard the female.

Isabel gave the younger female a smile.

"Nothing.", she shook her head, glancing at the break room where Levi was leaning against the frame of the door with his arms folded over his chest. 

The male's eyes were on the short female, a slight smirk on his face after hearing what Himari had said.

"I need to get back to work.", Isabel said with a small smile.

As the taller female left, Himari spotted the whiteboard close to the back of the room.

She approached the board, standing in front of it as she drank her coffee.

On the board, Himari found a photograph of Maria Pharmaceutical Company, the company which she works at, as well as Sina Pharmaceutical Company, one of the co-founding companies.

Her eyes scanned over the rest of the photographs.

"You don't seem surprised to see your company there.", a voice beside her spoke up.

Himari looked to her left and found Levi standing there, not having heard him walk over. The male had his hands in his pocket, as he looked at the board.

She looked back at the board with a small smile.

"Well, all companies have their little secrets that they're hiding.", Himari said before looking at the photograph of her company, "And God knows what's behind Maria's.", she said.

"We'll hopefully get to the bottom of that.", Furlan spoke up and Himari looked back at the male who was standing by the table.

"How does the murder of Sina's chairman have anything to do with our company?", Himari asked with a small frown.

"Because there are too many holes in this murder.", Armin said, "We're just going through everything.", he said.

"Is that your reason for your constant visits?", Mikasa asked.

Himari looked at her friend.

The raven haired girl's question being directed towards Levi.

"We're just clearing up every possibility.", Furlan said.

Himari glanced at the male, quietly finishing off her coffee since the atmosphere was becoming awkward.

The short female's phone vibrated and Himari's eyes turned to slight irritation.

Himari clicked her tongue in annoyance at the extra work assigned to her.

"Finished?", Levi held out his hand for the mug.

"Thanks.", Himari handed him the mug before she looked at Mikasa, "We need to get going.", she said.

The short female headed towards the door, glancing back at the raven haired male.

"Thanks for the coffee.", Himari said with a small smile before she looked at Mikasa, "You need to adjust some of your reports so that I can input all the data.", the female said, "That woman wants everything sent today.", Himari muttered with irritation.

The two females walked out and the officers stood in silence for a second.

"Now Yeager, tell me what's your relationship with Himari?", Levi looked at Eren with slight cold eyes.

...

**The next day...**

Himari was completely exhausted after the overnight work which left her with just a few hours of sleep.

So the female was not in the mood when the number of females who came up to her ask about Levi had increased in just a day.

It was lunchtime and Himari was enjoying a quiet meal in the canteen, sitting by herself since her headache made her want to avoid talking to people at the moment.

Petra soon approached Himari's table and the 22-year-old looked up from her seat.

"Petra if this is about that guy.", Himari began, already pissed from all the questions.

"No this isn't about him.", Petra said with a small laugh, "I was wondering whether you could tell me how to access some closed off data.", she asked as she took the seat opposite Himari.

"Closed off?", Himari repeated, "What do you need that for?", she asked as she ate.

"Well, Naomi was saying how she has a lot of work to do so I thought I'd help her out.", Petra said, "She's already behind on the daily reports so she asked me if I could complete a few of her reports.", she said.

"From what experiment do you need the data from?", Himari asked.

"An experiment under the name Kruptos.", Petra said.

Himari swallowed her food before looking at Petra with a small frown.

"Kruptos?", Himari asked, "I haven't heard of that.", she said.

"Ah, I think it's a new experiment.", Petra quickly said, "Do you know how to get access to it?", she asked.

Himari paused as she thought about it.

The 22-year-old is really good at things like this, being able to access and monitor data files faster than any other older worker here at the company. The short female was just a natural with computers so finding things was never a problem for her.

"Well if it's a new experiment then it won't be up on our S drive yet.", Himari said, "The only people who can access those data files would probably be someone like, Maniwa Kiyomi, your head of the department.", she said.

Himari worked her way to the simplest route to access the data.

"All you need is her computer and input our general passcode. From there you can open all the results for any experiment.", Himari said

Himari paused for a second.

"You probably need to log in from your username to log into her computer, but it could get you caught for accessing information that you're not supposed to.", she said, "Using our general passcode will make it harder to identify who had opened the data though.", the younger female said.

She then looked at the blonde girl.

"Although you can just ask Miss. Maniwa for that particular results section.", Himari said, "No need to go through all that trouble.", she said.

Petra paused.

"Yeah, maybe I'll do that.", she said before pausing yet again, "Say Himari, if I write this report, would you mind looking over it?", Petra asked.

Himari placed her chopsticks on the table, having finished her meal.

"You do realise that we're not even in the same department.", Himari said, "I just check data files and the numbers in the results section.", she said.

Petra smiled lightly.

"I know.", she said, "But your help would be very useful.", Petra said.

Himari rolled her eyes lightly.

"Finish your report and we'll see.", Himari said.

"Thank you so much.", Petra said as she stood up to leave, "So about the officer.", she began.

"Walk away Petra.", Himari warned the older female.

Petra walked away with a chuckle.

...

While heading home by car with Mikasa driving, Himari had fallen fast asleep on the seat beside her.

All the hours of nonstop work had finally worn out Himari's body.

The car stopped at a traffic light and neither girls were aware of the black Lamborghini Aventador car beside them.

Levi looked out of his car window, his steel grey eyes softening the smallest fraction after seeing the sleeping girl. 

His lips curved up in a small smirk as he watched Himari who was fast asleep.

Once the lights turned green, Levi sped past, the male being currently preoccupied with something else.

...

**Three days later...**

Himari was at her desk, working away on the computer, glancing every so often at the paper which contained a table of numbers.

There was a light knock on the door and someone else from Himari's department allowed the person to walk in.

The short female didn't notice someone approach her table until Himari finally removed her eyes from the computer screen.

The 22-year-old was wearing glasses at the moment, the female uses the spectacles only when using the computer since the long hours of having to stare at the screen, caused a slight strain to her eyes.

Looking up at the individual who walked in, Himari pushed her glasses up her nose, giving a smile at the female.

"Petra what's up?", Himari asked the blonde girl.

The blonde female was holding a thick folder in her arms as she stood by Himari's desk.

"The report which I told you about, would you look at it?", Petra asked.

She handed over the folder to Himari, who placed it on her desk.

"That's quite a large report.", Himari glanced at the large file before looking at Petra.

The blonde girl gave a small laugh.

"Sorry to put this onto you but it's quite important.", Petra said.

"Nah, it's alright.", Himari said, "I'll take a look at it once I'm done with these numbers.", she pointed to her computer screen.

Petra gave a nod.

The blonde female paused before leaving.

"Himari.", Petra called the other female.

"Hmm?", Himari looked up from having gone back to typing on the keyboard.

"Thank you for helping me.", Petra said with a smile.

Himari tilted her head.

"Really, it's not a big deal.", she said with a smile, "And Ral, make sure to get some rest, you look like you could use some sleep.", Himari said.

Petra laughed lightly at this.

"I'll get some rest very soon.", Petra said with a small smile as she left the room.

"More reports?", Mikasa asked, the raven haired girl being seated several tables away from Himari's table.

"Just a little bit more work, nothing big.", Himari replied with a small smile.

The short female opened the folder that Petra had given her, seeing the name Kruptos written on it.

Himari then closed the file before going back to finishing her current work.

**15 minutes later...**

"Miss. Himari.", an older female's voice was heard.

Himari who had just been stretching after typing for so long, looked up when her name was mentioned.

"Oh, Miss. Maniwa.", Himari said as she looked up at the older woman.

"I overheard Petra Ral had come by.", Miss. Maniwa said, "She's not troubling you, is she?", she asked.

"Oh no, not at all.", Himari replied, "Petra just asked me to go through a report for her.", she said, pointing to the folder on her desk.

Miss. Maniwa glanced at the folder before looking at Himari.

"I shouldn't let my department trouble you Miss. Himari, I'll get someone else to take over if that's alright.", Miss. Maniwa said.

"Err..sure.", Himari handed the folder to Miss. Maniwa, "It really wouldn't have been any trouble though.", she said.

"But you must be worn out from Taniuchi Chigusa having moved the deadline a few days ago. Don't strain your body just for one of my workers who couldn't finish her reports.", Miss. Maniwa said, "You behaviour was really kind though.", she gave the short female a smile, "You haven't started on going through this yet, have you?", the woman asked.

Himari shook her head.

"I had to finish off inputting a few data into the system so I didn't get a chance to take a look at it.", Himari said.

"Alright, that's fine.", Miss. Maniwa, "I'll take care of the rest from here.", she said before leaving the room.

Himari turned her chair back towards her computer.

"Now that's off your shoulders.", Mikasa said.

"Yep.", Himari said with a small smile, "I guess we can go home early now.", she said.

...

**After some time...**

Himari and Mikasa were heading to the car park when someone called the short female back.

The 22-year-old turned around before she reached the car, seeing Hanji waving at her.

Beside the scientist was the raven haired male.

"Your admirer is here.", Mikasa said quietly with a small smirk.

Himari sent a small glare at her friend.

"Oi, he's not my admirer.", Himari elbowed her friend.

Hanji and Levi soon approached the two females.

"Why don't you two join us for a cup of coffee?", Hanji asked.

Before Himari could reject the offer since she already felt awkward enough having to meet Levi on several occasions now, Mikasa had intervened first.

"I still have reports to complete.", Mikasa said.

Himari had thought that she was saved.

"But Himari finished up her share of work so she's free now.", Mikasa continued.

Himari looked back at her friend, knowing full well what Mikasa was trying to do.

"Could you join us for coffee?", Hanji asked with a grin.

"Err...well I-", Himari was interrupted by Mikasa again.

"I'll see you at home Himari.", Mikasa walked off to her car, leaving Himari with the officers.

The short female glanced back at her friend, before looking at the two officers.

"I guess I can join you for a little while.", Himari said.

"Great!", Hanji exclaimed, "You go with Levi.", she began to walk off to her own car.

"Err...", Himari did not feel comfortable being left alone with Levi.

"Shitty Glasses is a crazy driver.", Levi commented as he headed to his car.

'And you're not?', as much as Himari wanted to say that, she kept that comment to herself.

_I mean how bad could the car journey be with just the two of them._


	4. Chapter 4

Himari awkwardly followed Levi to his car.

She was about to open the back door but was interrupted by the male.

"I don't drive a taxi so sit at the front.", Levi said.

Himari retracted her hand away from the back door and opened the other door with an internal sigh.

She got into the seat beside the driver's seat as Levi started the car.

Putting on her seat belt, Himari decided to keep her gaze out of the window to avoid the awkward atmosphere.

Levi was driving down the road in silence before speaking up.

"Has your workload increased in the past few days?", Levi asked.

Himari glanced back at the male.

"It didn't increase that much.", Himari said, "The Head of my department decided to move several deadlines sooner than what it should have been.", she said, "The number of reports kinda built up because of that.", Himari said.

As Levi drove, Himari could tell that they weren't heading to a café but instead, they were heading to the male's workplace.

"So this is where you wanted to get a cup of coffee from?", Himari asked although she knew that the scientist had used the excuse of coffee for another purpose.

And Himari was going to find this out very soon.

She followed the male who hadn't said a word as he led her up the staircase.

Once walking into the familiar room, Himari found that two of the officers who she had remembered seeing weren't there, this being Eren and Armin.

Isabel was at her desk and was writing something before she looked up when Himari walked in and the older female gave her a wave.

Furlan was sorting out several stacks of papers and the male also looked up when Himari entered the room, giving a small nod in acknowledgement.

As Levi walked off to the break room to make some coffee, Hanji ushered the short female to a table.

"Come and sit.", Hanji said.

Himari sat down on the chair, as Hanji took the seat on the other side of the table.

"You know this guy, right?", Hanji placed a photograph of Fukui Korin in front of Himari.

Mr. Korin was the chairman of Sina Pharmaceutical Company.

The man was found stabbed and strangled less than a week ago.

Himari gave a nod.

"Yeah.", she said.

Hanji began pulling out multiple photographs from a folder, lining them up in a straight line for Himari.

Levi had walked over and placed a mug of hot coffee in front of Himari.

The female glanced up at the male who stood by the table before looking at the scientist.

"From these photographs, do you recognise anyone?", Hanji asked.

"Who am I meant to recognise?", Himari asked.

"Someone accompanied Mr. Korin to the board meeting 2 weeks ago.", Levi spoke up and Himari looked up at him, "You mentioned that he may have been a bodyguard, is he in any of the photographs?", he asked.

"And you couldn't have asked this to one of the board members?", Himari asked.

"Every board member is denying the fact that Mr. Korin had been accompanied by someone, everyone except you.", Furlan said, "CCTV footage does show Mr. Korin coming in with someone but we weren't able to get a face.", he said.

"And considering the fact that you did see the man, you could help us identify him.", Hanji said.

"Well, he's not here.", Himari glanced over at the photos again.

"These guys have a similar build to the man in the footage, are you sure he's not here?", Hanji asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure.", Himari replied, looking at the photos lined up in front of her.

"Looks like we have to go through the photos again.", Isabel said.

"Where the hell is this guy?", Furlan said with a sigh.

"I know where he is.", Himari said.

All eyes went back to the short female.

"You do?", Hanji asked.

Himari pulled out her phone.

"Yeah, give me a sec.", the 22-year-old began typing a few words on the internet before opening up an article.

Himari then showed the screen to Hanji, the others coming up behind the scientist to get a look at what the short female was showing.

Levi read the headline of the article, his steel grey eyes scanning through the large paragraph before looking at Himari.

"He's dead?", Isabel said.

"Well, he died last night.", Himari said as she turned the phone back in her direction, "They were showing it on TV in the canteen at work today and I remembered Levi asking about that guy who was with the chairman so I assumed you guys heard about it.", she said, "Apparently not.", Himari muttered quietly.

She put her phone away, picking up the mug to drink her coffee as the officers seemed to process the new information.

"Hanji. Get the post-mortem report.", Levi said.

"On it.", Hanji got up from her seat and left the building.

"We'll go check out the details.", Furlan said, walking out with Isabel.

Levi sighed quietly as he sat down where Hanji was previously sitting.

"You guys are a lot slower than I thought you'd be.", Himari commented.

The male looked at her.

"For someone who doesn't want to get involved in other people's business, you seem to be well informed.", Levi said.

Himari looked away at this.

"Ah well, that's because I just happened to be curious.", Himari said.

The female set the empty mug back on the table.

"And what are you doing, by showing up at my workplace for no reason?", she said, "Is there something that you need?", Himari asked.

Levi smirked slightly.

"At the moment there's nothing.", he said.

Himari looked at him and seeing his unwavering steel grey eyes on her, the female began to get uncomfortable as she diverted her eyes somewhere else.

"Whatever.", Himari stood up, "Just hurry up and close your case so that you'd stop bothering me.", she said before standing up.

"Even when this case comes to an end, we'll still encounter each other more often than before.", Levi said.

"And why on earth would we see each other again?", Himari asked with a small frown.

"Because it's fate.", Levi replied with an amused smirk.

Himari raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"T'ch, you don't seriously believe in things like fate.", she said.

"And meeting on more than one occasion, you don't really believe it's a mere coincidence, do you?", Levi asked the female.

"Unless you're a stalker, then it's neither a coincidence nor is it fate.", Himari said as she headed to the door.

Levi didn't stop the female as he watched her leave.

The male had a small smirk on his face as he ran his hand through his raven hair.

...

**Meanwhile with Himari...**

"Fucking fate. Who do you think you're trying to fool?", Himari muttered under her breath as she had gotten off the bus and was walking the short 10 minutes to her apartment, "You're the bastard showing up everywhere.", she muttered.

It was clear that Himari was pissed.

She didn't understand why Levi was always there, whenever she needed his help and even whenever she didn't want to see him at all.

The number of times she's encountered the male after the failed date attempt that her friend had tried to set her up in, was making Himari very confused.

So once she got home, Himari let out a small sigh when she was able to smell Mikasa's cooking.

The raven haired girl had cooked up dinner and only now was Himari realising how hungry she was. Her last meal being lunch then a cup of coffee from Levi which warmed up her stomach, but right now Himari needed real food.

"Go wash up so we can eat together.", Mikasa said.

Himari wasted no time in going to her bedroom and setting her bag to the side before she picked out some clothes from her wardrobe.

The short female then walked into the bathroom, her shoulders starting to relax under the warm water.

The long hours of sitting at a computer made her shoulders stiff.

Once she finished taking a bath, Himari dried herself and got dressed before heading to the living room.

Mikasa was already placing the food on the table and Himari sat down at the dining table as the two females enjoyed a nice meal together.

"Enjoyed your cup of coffee with them?", Mikasa asked with a small smile.

Himari rolled her eyes as she collected the dirty dishes and headed to the kitchen.

"Coffee was just an excuse.", Himari said as she began washing the dishes, "They had questions on the murder case that they needed answers to.", she said.

While Mikasa had cooked the meal, it was Himari's job to wash the dishes, both females taking in turn to reverse the roles. They were roommates so they shared the chores out evenly.

"For the case?", Mikasa asked with a frown as she leant against the counter, "I thought that guy was interested in you and wanted to have coffee.", she said.

"T'ch.", Himari clicked her tongue, "I have no idea what that guy wants or what he's thinking.", she said.

"He only seems to have his attention on you though.", Mikasa said.

"I'm pretty sure it's just to finish his case faster.", Himari said, "Did you know that those officers didn't even know that Mr. Korin's bodyguard was found dead yesterday night?", she said.

"The guy who died in the car accident?", Mikasa asked.

"Hmm.", Himari hummed in response, "They're working on that now.", she finished washing the dishes and let them dry on the rack, "But do you know what's weirder?", she asked.

Mikasa listened to her friend.

"The board members denied the fact that Mr. Korin was accompanied by someone for the meeting.", Himari said.

Mikasa frowned at this.

"But you said that you saw his bodyguard.", Mikasa said.

"Exactly.", Himari as she dried her hands, "I may have been the only one there in the corridor that time but they should've seen that man once the meeting had finished.", she said, "If they lied about seeing anyone, wouldn't that mean that Mr. Korin's death and the bodyguard's death aren't two separate cases?", she asked.

"Is it perhaps because those two knew something that they shouldn't have?", Mikasa asked.

Himari thought about it.

"That would be the most logical explanation.", Himari said.

"If so, then what is someone trying to cover up?", Mikasa asked.

Himari shrugged.

Both females were very confused as to where this was going.

...

**8.20PM**

Himari was working away on her laptop, doing some extra work when there was a knock at her bedroom door.

The short female stood up and walked over to the door.

"Himari do you have any painkillers?", Mikasa asked, "My head's killing me.", she said.

The raven haired girl had been reading some paperwork the whole time and was finally getting a headache from all the chunks of paragraphs which she had to analyse.

"No, I ran out last week.", Himari said, "I was planning on getting some.", she thought for a second, "Hang on a minute, I'll go and ask Ymir.", the female grabbed a hoodie and slipped on a pair of jeans over her shorts.

The short female quickly put on her trainers as she headed to the apartment several doors away.

Lucky for them, Ymir, Krista and Sasha are all roommates and share an apartment just a few doors away from Himari and Mikasa.

Ringing their doorbell, Himari waited for one of the girls to open the door.

Ymir opened the front door and gave Himari a smile.

"Hey, do you have any painkillers?", Himari asked, "Mikasa's got a headache.", she said.

"Yeah, let me get it for you.", Ymir opened the door wider, signalling Himari to step inside since the corridor was freezing cold.

As Himari waited, the short female heard Ymir yell out to one of her other roommates.

"Sasha, where did you put the painkillers?", Ymir shouted.

"I think I finished them.", Sasha shouted out from one of the rooms.

Ymir sighed.

"Sorry, Himari.", Ymir apologised.

"It's fine, I'll go buy some.", Himari gave a small smile as she walked out, sending a text to Mikasa telling her that she'd be back from the pharmacy in 15 minutes.

**8.40PM**

The walk to the pharmacy wasn't that far and Himari paid for the two packets of paracetamol before heading back to her apartment.

...

**9.50PM**

Sirens were heard in the block as an ambulance and several police cars were parked close to an alleyway.

Distant chatters from the police radios were heard as two individuals were let past the police tapes.

"Victim's details?", the taller male spoke up.

The two individuals were Levi and Furlan, the two had arrived at the scene after receiving the information about the death.

The police officer who had been directing orders, pulled out his notebook, having written the information on the small notepad.

"Female.", the officer said, "Age, 24 years old.", he said, "Name, Petra Ral.", the man said, "There was an ID card for Maria Pharmaceutical Company.", he said.

Levi and Furlan glanced at each other.

"There was someone at the scene before the emergency services were called.", the police officer said.

"Do you have the details of that individual?", Furlan asked.

"Yes, they gave their details.", the man said, "A female named Himari Matsuzaki, aged-", the police officer was cut off by Levi.

"We have the rest of the details.", the raven haired male said before walking away.

"Thank you for your cooperation sir.", Furlan gave a bow before quickly following after Levi.

Once the two detectives got back to their workplace, Furlan explained everything to the others.

Everyone was silent as they all looked at Levi, waiting for an order from him.

It was as if no one dared to even break the silence because they all knew what the short female meant for the raven haired male.

"Levi.", Hanji called the male after the whole team had been silent for the past five minutes.

The raven haired male looked up from where he was sitting, the detective having been deep in thought.

"Leave Himari out of this.", Levi said.

"But Levi-", Hanji was cut off by the male.

"Leave her out for now.", he said more firmly, "Gather the rest of the information about the victim: phone calls, texts, relationships, anything you can find.", Levi said.

As everyone else went to work, the raven haired male looked at Hanji.

"Hanji, come with me tomorrow to see her.", Levi stood up then headed upstairs.

The scientist could tell that Levi was acting strangely because he didn't use the nickname which he would've usually used.

Tonight, Hanji was certain, that Levi will not get any sleep.

...

**The next day...**

A pale form walked down the corridor.

It was the short female.

Himari Matsuzaki. 

She was walking down the corridor in her lab coat, the female's skin matching the white fabric that she wore.

Himari's pace was slow, her eyes seeming to be unfocused and her thoughts somewhere else.

She practically looked like a walking dead body.

Everyone has heard the news about Petra's murder, although no one knew about Himari's involvement in the case, except for her close friends.

...

Several corridors away, Levi and Hanji were walking down the corridor, in search of Himari, to question the girl about yesterday's events obviously.

...

'What should I do?' Himari thought, 'What shall I tell them?', she thought, 'Petra's...she's gone, so what do I do now?', the female thought.

Her vision began to get blurry as she turned a corner, feeling her breathing turning ragged.

'Am I seeing double?' Himari asked herself after seeing two of everything, 'Why is there two?', she thought.

From the opposite side of the corridor, Levi and Hanji were walking, only now spotting the female further away.

Everything in Himari's vision began to darken around the edges and she felt her whole world tilt to the right.

'I need to....', Himari blacked out before her body even hit the ground.

Levi's eyes widened a fraction before he ran towards the female.

"Hanji start the car!", Levi shouted to the scientist as he picked up Himari bridal-style in his arms.

He found the short female extremely lightweight for someone her age as he hurried to the car where Hanji had already started the vehicle.

...

**Almost two hours later...**

Himari stirred awake, the female was laying down on a hospital bed, a wire attached to her arm where glucose was being given.

The female slowly opened her eyes, a blurry white ceiling being in her line of vision.

The 22-year-old sat up, feeling light-headed from sitting up too fast.

She held onto her head with her hand, blinking a few times to get her vision to clear up.

"Himari are you alright?", Mikasa asked as she stood up from having sat on a chair while waiting for her friend to wake up.

The short female looked up at Mikasa.

"Yeah.", Himari replied, "What happened?", she asked as she rubbed her temple.

"You passed out unconscious at work.", Mikasa said, "Those two detectives brought you to the hospital.", she said, "You haven't eaten anything since this morning so your blood sugar level was really low.", Mikasa said.

Himari looked around the room.

Only Mikasa was in the room with her.

The raven haired girl pulled out a sandwich from a shopping bag, handing the meal to the younger girl.

"Eat.", Mikasa said.

As Himari opened the packet, she glanced at her friend.

"How long was I out for?", Himari asked before taking a bite out of the sandwich.

"Almost two hours.", Mikasa replied as she sat back down.

"Oh.", was all Himari said before she looked down at the sandwich in her hand, eating it in silence after that.

Once she finished eating the sandwich, Mikasa handed Himari a juice box.

The short female looked at the small juice box with a raised eyebrow.

"Seriously?", Himari asked since this is what you'd give a small child.

"Ymir bought you lunch.", Mikasa said.

Himari shook her head with a faint smile before taking the straw that was attached to the back of the juice box.

There was a knock at the door before Ymir, Krista and Sasha walked in.

The three female rushed over and hugged the short female, asking her if she was feeling better now and telling her how worried they were.

"You know, those officers are still waiting outside.", Sasha said.

Himari pierced the juice box and brought the straw to her lips.

"You don't have to talk them if you don't feel up to it.", Ymir said.

"Who's waiting outside?", Himari asked.

"There's Levi and Ymir's friend, Hanji.", Krista said.

Himari thought for a second.

"You can let them in.", Himari said.

"Are you sure?", Sasha asked.

"Yeah, I have to speak to them sooner or later.", Himari said.

"Then give us a call when you need us back here.", Ymir patted Himari's head before walking out.

Himari grabbed Mikasa's sleeve.

"Can you stay, please?", Himari asked.

Mikasa took Himari's hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze for reassurance, as she gave the younger girl a smile.

"Of course.", Mikasa said.

Himari finished her juice just as Levi and Hanji walked in.

Levi's eyes fell on Himari, steel grey eyes filled with relief once seeing that the female was no longer as pale as she was before.

Hanji and Levi grabbed two chairs and sat down opposite the bed where Himari was sitting.

"Are you feeling better?", Hanji asked.

"Err...yeah, I'm fine.", Himari looked down at her hands before she looked up and her eyes landed on Levi.

For some reason, the 22-year-old was able to see that the raven haired male looked tired, almost worn out.

She began to wonder whether he got enough sleep but then thought back to her own situation. Himari was in a much worse condition compared to Levi so she couldn't comment on his health.

Pulling her eyes away from his, Himari looked at the scientist who was about to start with the questions.

"I don't think that we need to explain why we're here.", Hanji began, "I'll be asking you a few questions and I'd like you to reply in as much detail as you can remember.", she said, "If there are any extra details, make sure to tell us that as well.", Hanji said.

Himari gave a small nod.

"I'll begin with a broad question.", Hanji paused for a second, "What happened last night?", she asked.

Himari's blood turned cold as she remembered last night's events.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'll begin with a broad question.", Hanji paused for a second, "What happened last night?", she asked.

Himari's eyes seemed to show agitation at the question, as the young female quickly diverted her eyes to her lap where she fidgeted with her sleeves.

The female's silence prodded Hanji to word her question differently since it was an uneasy topic, to begin with.

"Himari, what did you see last night?", Hanji asked, "Was Miss. Ral already hurt when you got there?", the scientist asked.

The 22-year-old's heart began to race frantically as last night's nightmare replayed in her head.

...

**Flashback to last night...**

**8.40PM**

Himari had bought the medication for her friend's headache and had just stepped out of the pharmacy.

She felt the phone in her pocket vibrate and the female pulled it out to see a text from an unknown number.

With a small frown, she unlocked her phone before going to messages.

The female's frown seemed to deepen as she read the text.

**_'We're having coffee once your work is over tomorrow.'_** , it said.

Himari did not know who this was from.

**_'Same time as today.'_** , the next text said.

The female was close to working out who the texts were from but her thoughts were interrupted when the next text arrived.

**_'By the way, this is Levi.'_** , the male had sent.

Himari raised her eyebrow at this before she clicked her tongue.

"Stupid bastard, how did he get my number?", she muttered to herself as she walked down the pavement.

Himari didn't bother replying to the texts, wondering what made the raven haired male think that she'd be free and would agree to have coffee with him.

To Himari, it was just another excuse to ask her questions about the case that he was handling.

Not to mention the fact that she did tell him that she wanted him to stop bothering her but he clearly wasn't getting the message.

The female quietly sighed to herself and was going to slide her phone in her pocket when someone knocked into her.

Both the short female and the person who had collided into Himari fell to the ground.

The 22-year-old had dropped her phone and the plastic bag which she had been carrying as she felt a sting to her elbow after it had scraped against the concrete.

Himari clicked her tongue as she rubbed her elbow before looking up to glare at the person.

...

**Back to the present...**

Mikasa lightly placed her hand on Himari's shoulder making the girl snap out from her thoughts.

Himari looked up at her friend before looking at the two detectives, her eyes falling onto her lap once again.

"Petra was already stabbed when I got there.", Himari finally answered one of the questions.

Hanji took small notes as she moved on to the next question.

"Did you call for help once you saw Miss. Ral having been injured?", Hanji asked.

The short female took a few seconds to reply, her mind still not fully registering the interrogation as her thoughts were somewhere else.

"Yeah.", Himari replied.

"You called for help.", Hanji began, "But you did not use your phone to call the emergency services.", she said, "Instead you used Miss. Ral's phone, why is that?", Hanji asked.

"I dropped my phone several minutes before and it wouldn't turn back on.", Himari replied, "After that I found Petra and since her phone was lying beside her, I used that instead.", she said.

"And you went home after the police and ambulance all arrived?", Hanji said, "Why didn't you stay to answer some questions?", she asked.

"I didn't want to.", Himari replied.

When the short female looked up, she found both detectives staring at her.

Himari diverted her eyes to one of the walls as she continued.

"I felt sick and then I threw up once I got home so I couldn't stay.", Himari said.

There was a small knock at the door, with Eren and Isabel entering the hospital room.

Himari let out a small sigh in frustration before speaking up.

"Look, I can see what it looks like right now.", Himari said, "I ran away from a murder scene but I can assure you that I didn't do anything to Petra.", the female began to frown, "If that fucking woman had called the ambulance then Petra would still be alive.", she muttered under her breath.

"What woman?", Hanji asked.

Himari looked at Hanji, slightly confused at the scientist's question.

"The woman who was with Petra before I found her dying.", Himari replied with a small frown.

This time it was the detectives who seemed to show confusion.

"What are you talking about?", Hanji asked.

"Someone else had been with Petra before me.", Himari said, "The only reason I went into that alleyway was because that woman ran out and collided into me in the process.", she said.

"Can you explain that in more detail?", Hanji asked.

Himari paused for a second.

"Well, I didn't notice a woman suddenly run out from the alleyway until she literally ran into me.", Himari said, "After that, she just picked her stuff before running off without apologising.", the female then paused, "Then it felt like I saw something in the alleyway so I went in.", she said quietly.

"The woman who ran off, do you remember how she looks like?", Hanji asked.

"She was tall with blonde hair.", Himari said, "Lots of piercings on her ears.", the female paused for a second, "I don't know her name but I'm pretty sure she works at our company.", Himari said.

This piqued their interest, as Levi got Isabel to go through the photographs of workers from Maria Pharmaceutical Company.

Isabel put together the refined search on her iPad, of all the workers with blonde hair.

She showed each one to Himari, but the younger female shook her head for every single photograph.

"The woman that you saw yesterday, did she look like the murderer?", Hanji asked.

Himari paused.

"No.", Himari replied, "More like she saw the murderer.", she said.

There was a minute of silence.

"Isabel, go and check the CCTV footages with Furlan.", Levi sent one of the females away.

The male finally turned his attention back to Himari.

Their eyes met and Levi was about to say something but the doctor came in.

The female doctor removed the wire that was attached to Himari's arm, telling the 22-year-old that it was dangerous of her to skip meals to this extent.

She told Himari that she could be discharged from the hospital today before the doctor left the room to check on her other patients.

Once left in silence again, Levi spoke up.

"Did Miss. Ral say anything to you?", Levi asked.

Although their eyes had met, Himari pulled her eyes away from the steel grey eyes which were staring back at her and she decided to focus her attention on the floor.

"No.", Himari replied.

Levi stared at the short female for a few more seconds before standing up.

"Alright.", Levi said before heading to the door.

"Give us a call if you remember anything.", Hanji said as she left the room.

"Take care.", Eren gave the two females a wave before he too left the room.

Once the detectives had left the room, Himari got out of bed and put on her shoes.

Mikasa handed the short female her coat and both females stared at each other before they walked out of the room.

On the way downstairs, Mikasa and Himari met up with the other three females and they headed to the reception to pay for the hospital bill.

Himari was deep in thought as the raven haired girl was by the counter of the reception, filling in her friend's details.

'That woman wasn't in any of the department photos.', Himari thought to herself, 'But I'm pretty sure she works at our company.', the female paused as she tried to remember where she had previously seen the woman.

An image came to Himari's mind and the short female finally remembered where she had first seen the woman who had run out of the alleyway.

"The toilets.", Himari muttered quietly.

Himari remembered the woman from the female toilets, remembering that the woman had been cleaning at the time Himari had run into the restroom after feeling cramps in her lower abdomen.

'She's a cleaner.', Himari thought, 'That's why she wasn't in the photographs.', she thought.

The short female looked back in search of the detectives to tell them what she remembered.

Himari almost did a double take once she spotted someone on the second floor of the hospital building.

The female then looked around, soon finding the group of detectives about to leave the hospital building.

She ran over to the detectives in a hurry, leaving her group of friends behind.

"Levi.", Himari grabbed the raven haired male's hand.

Levi had glanced at her hand which held his for a mere second before his eyes landed on the female's face.

"Levi, the woman I was talking about.", Himari said, "She's over there.", she turned back and looked at the second floor, pointing to the woman who was talking with a male doctor.

The raven haired male followed her gaze, and soon found the blonde woman that Himari had described.

While his attention was on the blonde woman, Himari realised that she was still holding onto Levi's hand and she quickly let go.

Levi looked back at Himari and the short female took a small step back from the male, from having been standing too close.

The raven haired male then looked back at Eren.

"Yeager take those stairs.", Levi said then looked back at the scientist, "Hanji, the lift.", the male said.

As the two ran off, Levi looked back at Himari one last time before taking another flight of staircase to reach the second floor.

Himari looked back at Levi, her right hand still being able to feel the tingly warmth from when she had grabbed the male's hand.

"Himari.", someone placed a hand on the short female's shoulder and Himari snapped out of her thoughts as she looked behind.

Mikasa had paid the hospital fees and was looking around for Himari when she found the female talking with the detectives.

"Let's go home.", Mikasa said.

Himari followed Mikasa out of the hospital with her friends.

As the raven haired girl began to drive back to their apartment, Himari rested her head against the window as the flashback continued on from where it had left off.

...

**Flashback to last night...**

Himari glared up at the person who had knocked her onto the ground.

The short female recognised the woman who was in front of her.

She was a tall woman, her blonde hair being tied up in a ponytail. Several piercings running along both earlobes but it was the woman's pale state that was worrying.

The content of her handbag had dropped onto the floor because of the collision between both females, and the tall woman quickly grabbed her things and shoved them into her bag before stumbling to her feet.

Himari looked back at the woman with a small frown before she picked up her fallen paracetamol packets from the ground and put them back into the plastic bag.

The female picked up her phone, pressing the home screen button and seeing that it wouldn't turn back on.

Himari clicked her tongue in annoyance as she slid her phone in her pocket before getting to her feet.

A light seemed to have flashed in the alleyway that Himari stood in front of, and the female caught sight of familiar blonde hair.

Himari decided to step inside the dimly lit alleyway, not being able to see any movement.

Within a few steps of stepping into the alleyway, Himari's eyes widened as she dropped the plastic bag in shock.

A blonde female was laying on her back, but it was the fact that she knew the blonde girl who was laying there and the fact that a pool of blood surrounded the body, that shocked Himari even more.

"Petra.", Himari's voice was barely a whisper as she ran over to the blonde girl.

Falling onto her knees beside the pale female, Himari grabbed the older female's shoulders.

"Petra!", Himari shouted.

The blonde girl's eyes slowly opened and looked back at Himari's frightened chestnut coloured eyes.

"Petra!", Himari frantically called the older girl to try and see if there was any response.

Himari saw the blood flowing out from the several stab wounds of the female's stomach.

"Somebody help!", Himari yelled as she used her hands to block the wounds from spilling anymore blood.

But Petra's warm blood flowed through the gaps of Himari's fingers.

Tears slid down Himari's cheeks as she could see the life slipping out from Petra's eyes.

"Petra, you'll be fine.", Himari said with a shaky voice.

Seeing that no one was coming to help, Himari looked around and found Petra's phone lying a few metres away.

Himari quickly stood up and grabbed the phone with trembling hands as she dialled the emergency services.

The short female was kneeling back by Petra's side as she told the address to the woman on the line.

When Petra began coughing, Himari had lowered the phone from her ear and the blonde female slapped the mobile phone away from Himari's hand, cutting off the call.

The older female grabbed Himari's wrist and Himari looked down at the blonde girl.

"T-They.", Petra began shakily, her voice sounding strained, "They're doing something at the company.", she coughed.

"Petra.", Himari said softly.

"Don't....", Petra began coughing out blood but the blonde female forced herself to continue speaking, "Don't trust anyone there.", and just like that, her eyes began to close again before her grip around Himari's wrist loosened.

"Petra.", Himari shook the blonde girl's shoulders, "Petra!", she shouted, "Petra wake up!", the female cried out.

Sirens could be heard in the distance but everything seemed to have been muffled out for Himari as she called out her friend's name again and again.

But the blonde female stayed completely still.

Footsteps approached in a hurry, and a female officer pulled Himari away so that the medics could check the wounded female.

Himari cried out for Petra as the blonde girl's death was confirmed by the medics.

After that, everything seemed to be happening without Himari being aware of anything. 

The short female had gone completely into shock and with no familiar warmth beside her, Himari felt quite helpless.

She used one of the officers' mobile phones to call Mikasa, the raven haired girl rushing over in her car once she heard Himari crying over the phone while asking for help.

Himari ran into Mikasa's arms, the only warmth which seemed to comfort her as the short female began to cry her eyes out.

The raven haired girl only became aware of what was going on when she caught a glimpse of Petra's pale face, the blonde female's body being taken away for examination.

Mikasa firmly wrapped her arms around her friend, finally understanding what had happened.

It was the raven haired girl who had left their details with the police officer, Himari having gone pale a long while ago and looking pretty much lifeless at the moment.

Mikasa then took her friend home and once they were back at their apartment, the older girl led Himari to the bathroom, helping the short female take her blood-stained hoodie off.

Himari later threw up into the bathtub, her stomach emptying out their dinner which they had previously eaten. Her mind kept on replaying the image of Petra's lifeless body which made the 22-year-old more sick, the more she recalled it.

...

** Back to the present... **

"Himari we're here.", Mikasa had interrupted Himari's thoughts.

The short female lifted her head from having been resting against the window as she silently followed the raven haired girl back to their apartment.

Himari took the rest of the day off from work, clearly not well enough to go back to the company. She engrossed herself in the usual lab reports that she had to complete, to stop her mind from wandering on other things.

...

**The next day...**

Breakfast was forced onto Himari, to make sure yesterday's events didn't repeat itself.

The group of five girls headed to work in the morning, going about to their own departments.

When Himari and Mikasa arrived at their desk, the short female was called out by their manager, Ms. Taniuchi Chigusa.

The older woman was the head of their department and Himari began to wonder whether she was in trouble for leaving her work unfinished yesterday.

But to Himari's surprise, the older woman asked whether she was feeling better now. It seems that news and gossip do travel fast around the company.

After telling Ms. Taniuchi that she was fine, the older woman told Himari that someone wanted to see her.

So right now, Himari was walking down the corridor, heading to Mr. Tsuji Kiyohisa's office.

This man is a very important figure for the company because he is the CEO of Maria Pharmaceutical Company.

Himari has met the man a few times and has been in his office for small meetings but this was the first time she was going there alone. The short female felt slightly nervous and began to think of all the possible explanations as to why the CEO of the company wanted to speak to her.

When Himari reached the door, she found the CEO's secretary already waiting outside of the door for her.

"Miss. Matsuzaki?", the man asked.

Himari gave a nod.

"This way Miss.", the secretary gave a knock at the door before opening it.

He stepped inside and gestured Himari to come in.

The female walked into the room, glancing around the large office before her eyes fell on the man sitting at the desk.

It was the CEO himself.

Dressed in a suit, the man was typing away at his computer before he looked in the direction of the female. He gave her a smile as he closed whatever tab that he was using before he turned his chair and faced forward.

"Take a seat Miss. Matsuzaki.", Mr. Tsuji gestured to the chair opposite his desk.

Himari walked over and sat down opposite the tall man.

The CEO was in his mid-40s, the male's once dark brown hair was showing a few white hairs now, probably from all the stress.

"Would you like a cup of tea?", the man asked kindly.

"No thank you.", Himari said, not really in the mood for a drink when her nerves were high because she was called to this man's office.

"Then a green tea for me.", the man told his secretary.

The secretary left the room to get the drink and the man who sat on the other side of the table from Himari leaned back on his chair.

"I heard about what happened to Miss. Ral, she was a friend of yours?", the man asked.

"Yes.", Himari looked down at her hands on her lap, remembering the blonde girl's pale face.

"I'm sorry for your loss Miss. Matsuzaki.", he said, "The officers must be putting you through a great deal with their questions.", Mr. Tsuji said, "After all, you're the witness for their case.", he said.

"You're mistaken sir, I'm not the witness.", Himari said, "I found Petra's body, that's all.", she said, "The witness probably has it harder than me.", the female said.

"Oh, I see.", the man said quietly before he paused, "Miss. Matsuzaki, I probably don't say this enough times to my workers, considering the fact that everyone is so focused with their own deadlines. But I'd like you to know that my workers' well-being and health are more important to me than meeting deadlines.", Mr. Tsuji said, "I understand that you're going through a tough time right now but if there's anything that you need help with, you should know that you can talk to anyone here.", the man said.

He rested his elbows on the desk as he leant forward from his chair.

"You're an exceptional worker and I've heard of the work which you've contributed to this company, so please take care of your health.", he said, "If there's something bothering you and if you feel that you're unable to speak to any of the managers, you're welcome to knock at my door and we can talk.", he gave her a kind smile, "It is worrying to see a young lady collapse from stress and exhaustion, so speak to someone if it's too much to handle all at once.", he said.

Although those were kind words coming from the CEO, Himari could feel something hidden behind the kind smile.

Perhaps it was almost like an intimidating aura.

But Himari wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Thank you for your concern sir.", Himari said, "But I think I'll get my mind off things if I continue working.", she forced on a small smile.

The short female just wanted to leave the CEO's office.

"As you wish.", the man said, "Enjoy the rest of your day.", he gave her a smile.

Himari stood up, giving the man a small bow before leaving the room.

Once she shut the door behind her, the female finally released a small sigh.

The 22-year-old began heading back to her department, the CEO's secretary walking past with a cup of green tea. Behind the secretary was a much larger man, probably the CEO's bodyguard since the heavily-built man had already made several visits to the company.

Himari didn't really pay attention to either of the men as she walked past.

...

**Several hours later...**

Himari and her friends were heading to lunch and the short female paused when she spotted Levi further in the distance.

He was with Furlan and Isabel, the group of detectives talking to Miss. Maniwa Kiyomi, the woman being the head of the department which Petra worked at.

Himari could overhear Miss. Maniwa speaking about Petra.

"She was a very hard-working young lady.", Miss. Maniwa said.

Himari's eyes moved from Miss. Maniwa to Levi.

'I didn't tell him.', Himari thought.

She felt guilty for not telling Levi the whole truth but Himari felt unable to tell him.

Levi, who had let Furlan and Isabel talk to Miss. Maniwa, turned around, his eyes soon meeting Himari's.

The two stared at each other.

Himari could feel a lump forming at the back of her throat. She just wanted to cry right now, the pain in her chest after seeing Petra like that two nights ago, Himari just couldn't get the picture out of her head.

The short female pulled her eyes away from the male.

She wasn't planning on breaking down here.

"Let's go.", Himari told Mikasa as they headed to the canteen together. 

...

**Several minutes later...**

Himari took her tray of food and was heading to a table with her friends.

The short female found all eyes on her.

It was to be expected since news that Himari had been with Petra and that she was a possible witness, had already been going around throughout the whole company.

Himari was feeling overly conscious of all the attention but she was really glad that her friends managed to lessen the tension by talking about random things as they sat at a table together.

Even so, Himari didn't really join in their conversation as she looked down at her tray of food, using her chopsticks to play with the noodles instead of eating her lunch.

The canteen seemed to have quietened down as three people walked in.

Himari glanced up and saw the raven haired male, which made the female internally sigh at the new attention.

She quickly went back to looking at her food as she heard Levi's footsteps approaching her table.

The female did not look up when the footsteps stopped in front of her.

The empty chair, opposite to where Himari was sitting, was pulled back and Levi sat down.

Himari could feel the eyes from the nearby tables and she did her best to ignore them.

"You're just making things worse.", Himari muttered while keeping her head down.

It was bad enough with what she had to go through, now everyone at work seemed to have their eyes on her because of what happened to Petra. So having Levi join her at the table only made things uncomfortable for Himari.

"And things aren't already bad enough?", the raven haired male spoke up.

Himari finally looked up, meeting his steel grey eyes which were already on her.


	6. Chapter 6

Levi walked up to the table that Himari was sitting on and took a seat opposite her.

Hushed whispers filled the air around the canteen and the short female tried her best to ignore the voices.

"You're just making things worse.", Himari muttered.

The female had not yet looked up at the male who sat opposite her. 

She already had too many things going on in her mind right now, so she didn't want the extra attention, yet the detective sitting across from her was bringing all eyes to her. 

"And things aren't already bad enough?", Levi said.

Himari looked up at his blunt words.

She was taken back by those frank words, especially at a time like this.

The female didn't expect the male to state the obvious when Himari already had a lot on her mind.

"What do you want?", Himari asked.

She already answered questions yesterday so Himari wondered why the male was still constantly popping up wherever she was.

"I'd like to ask a few questions, so can we talk somewhere privately?", Levi asked.

Himari glanced over at Mikasa before looking back at the raven haired male.

"I already answered your questions.", Himari said.

"Those questions were from that scientist's.", Levi said, "I have questions of my own.", he said.

Himari's eyes didn't move from Levi's.

The female could feel panic in her chest but she could also feel the lump in the back of her throat. Himari knew that for now, her emotions will be all over the place and she didn't want the male to see that.

Himari looked away.

"N-Not right now.", Himari said, her eyes falling on her unfinished food once again.

Levi stared at the female.

He was contemplating about something before speaking up.

"I'll come back at the end of the day.", Levi said as he stood up and left the canteen with the two other detectives who had followed him inside.

Chatters started up once the detectives left, but Himari only looked up when Levi had left the canteen.

She wasn't sure why she felt frightened to answer the male's questions because unlike the scientist, Himari felt that Levi was able to see right through her. 

Perhaps that was what scared her.

The idea that the male would catch on her lies, Himari didn't want that.

She hadn't told him what really happened that night and there was a reason for that.

A dead person has secrets...but so did a living person.

And even though, Himari was hiding something at the moment, she wondered what was Petra's secret.

Himari stood up, leaving the half-finished meal to Sasha, the brunette more than happy for the extra food.

The short female walked out of the canteen and began walking down the corridor, deep in thought about something.

There were so many questions that she wanted to ask as well.

But those answers, Himari was sure that only Petra could have answered them.

Himari didn't know what to do at the moment, she was confused, but there was also that sense of fear for what happens next.

The female sighed quietly.

She has to think things through.

Well, she has until the end of the day to get her thoughts together.

...

**Several hours later...**

Himari had finished up work and was heading to the parking lot with her friends.

"Handsome detective alert.", Sasha said, having nicknamed the raven haired male the 'handsome detective'. 

Himari looked around the parking lot and finally spotted the raven haired male.

Levi was leaning against his black Lamborghini Aventador, his suit immaculately ironed, and his hands were in his trouser pockets.

His steel grey eyes were already on Himari as he waited for her.

The short female noticed that he was alone and not with his colleagues which put her at ease slightly.

"Do you need us to come with you?", Ymir asked.

Himari looked back at her friends.

They had been there at the table when the male told her that he had questions to ask and said that he'd be back later. 

They were all just worried about her, considering the fact that she collapsed at work and had to be taken to hospital.

But Himari had her thoughts sorted out so that gave her a surge of confidence.

"That's alright, I'll handle it.", Himari gave them a small smile.

"Return as soon as you're done.", Ymir patted Himari's head.

The older female walked to her car with Sasha and Krista who had said their goodbye to the younger female.

Mikasa looked at Himari.

"Call me if you need anything.", Mikasa said.

"Ah don't worry, it'll be fine.", Himari gave her friend a smile.

Mikasa returned a small smile, glancing at where Levi was and sending him a glare.

The raven haired girl then walked to her car.

Himari then began walking towards Levi and the male stood up straight once the female reached him.

"Get inside.", Levi said.

Himari watched the male get behind the wheel and she internally sighed before walking around the car and getting into the seat beside him.

So much for not wanting attention.

Several people saw Himari getting into the same vehicle as the detective.

The ride started off silent, Himari not wanting to speak to the male, although the raven haired male began with a question which wasn't even related to the case.

"Have you eaten?", Levi asked as he drove.

Himari looked at the male for a second before looking away.

"Well yeah, I had lunch.", Himari replied.

She did not see how this was related to the case at all.

"All of it?", he asked as he stopped at a traffic light.

Levi looked at Himari, just as the female looked up at him.

"Huh?", she was confused.

"Did you finish your lunch after I left?", Levi asked.

This only got her more confused as she wondered why the male was concerned about that.

"No.", she frowned slightly before looking away, "I wasn't really hungry anyways.", Himari said.

Levi looked back at the road as the lights turned green and he continued to drive.

The male stayed silent after that and they soon arrived at a café.

Himari realised that he hadn't taken her to his workplace like he had previously done before, and instead brought her to a café.

The female was quite glad of that since the atmosphere at his workplace would've probably been tense with all the detectives staring at her.

She followed him into the café and they sat down at a table as the male ordered two cups of coffee.

Himari looked around the café, before an argument at a table further away caught her attention.

"How the fuck do you know Greek?", a male snapped.

"Dude it's quite easy to learn.", the man sitting opposite him said, "Some of the words are quite similar to what we learn in English.", he said, "Some English words originated from Greek and even Latin.", the male said.

The two males began to argue back and forth about different languages and Himari pulled her eyes away from those two.

She looked back at Levi to find the male staring at her.

"What?", Himari asked.

There was a faint smirk on his face.

"Nothing.", he said.

A waiter came over and served them the cups of coffee that Levi had ordered.

Himari picked up her cup and glanced over at Levi who wiped the rim of the cup with a napkin before picking up the cup in the same strange manner that he had done when she had first met him.

Her eyes moved from his hands then to his face as she brought her cup of coffee to her lips.

After a few sips, she set the cup down on the table.

"Aren't you going to ask me questions?", Himari asked since he had not asked a single thing about the case since she had stepped into his vehicle.

Levi set his cup down as he stared at the female.

She felt uncomfortable under his gaze, feeling that he could almost pull the answers out of her if he really wanted to.

"What were you doing out so late at night?", Levi asked.

"Huh?", Himari blinked, having been distracted by his eyes.

"You went out alone that night, what were you doing out?", the male asked, not showing any irritation at having to repeat the question.

In fact, the male seemed to be quite gentle with his tone but the female wasn't able to pick up on it.

"I went to the pharmacy.", Himari replied, "Mikasa said that she had a headache and we ran out of painkillers.", she said.

Levi seemed to be thinking about something for a second before speaking up.

"You have questions of your own, don't you?", Levi asked.

'Is that all he wanted to ask?', the female thought.

Himari looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

"So what if I have questions, would you even answer them?", she asked.

"To the best of my ability.", Levi replied.

Himari frowned slightly.

"Is that even allowed?", she asked.

"I can make an exception.", Levi replied with a small smirk. 

Himari had no idea why the male was doing this, but even so, she asked him a question.

"Did you find the murderer?", Himari asked.

"Not yet.", Levi replied.

She looked down at her cup of coffee.

The female felt the urge to tell Levi what really happened that night, the details which she had hidden away but Himari was still against the idea of telling him.

"Is that all?", Levi asked.

Himari didn't reply.

"The woman back at the hospital.", Levi began and Himari looked up at him, "She died in custody last night.", he said.

"In your custody?", Himari asked, with slight surprise.

"We took her to a police station.", Levi replied, "She didn't utter a single word when we questioned her at the hospital.", the male paused, "I know a few people at the local police station who are good when it comes to interrogations but before they had the chance to question her, she had already collapsed.", he said.

"Collapsed?", Himari repeated with a frown.

"She had consumed poison before we even took her in.", Levi said, "The poison had taken over her whole system so it was too late.", he said.

This had taken Himari completely by surprise.

The cleaner had most likely seen the murderer but without even making a statement, she took her own life.

For what reason?

Was the secret so big that she had to kill herself?

That's two deaths already, from the same company as well, does that mean Petra was right about what she said?

"Finding evidence now would be quite hard.", Levi said, "But I'm sure that the murderer had slipped up somewhere.", he said.

"So she took her own life?", Himari asked.

"There's also the possibility that someone did this to her.", Levi said, "We're still looking into that.", he said.

Himari began thinking about something.

Levi stared at the female before he picked up his cup of coffee.

After some time, the two finished their coffee and Levi paid for both drinks before standing up.

Himari followed behind him, overhearing the two males still arguing about languages.

Then something came up in the female's mind.

"Levi.", the female called the male as they headed to his car.

The raven haired male glanced at the short female, slowing down his pace as he walked beside her.

"Do you know how to speak Greek?", Himari asked.

"No.", Levi replied, "Why?", he asked.

"Just wondering.", Himari said with a shrug.

...

Levi had dropped Himari off at her apartment and had made his way back to his workplace.

There was stacks of boxes on the table, the boxes containing Petra's belongings that could help with the case.

"This girl reads a lot, I mean look how many books there are!", Furlan exclaimed.

"Oh don't be such a baby and just go through them.", Isabel said.

Right now the detectives were going through Petra's books to see if they was anything important.

Levi glanced at the pile of books they had gone through, the male paused when his eyes fell on a particular title.

The raven haired male picked up the book, staring at the book in his hands.

' _Learn Greek in 5 days._ ' 

_**"Do you know how to speak Greek?"**_ , Himari's words echoed in his head.

"T'ch.", Levi clicked his tongue.

'What are you hiding Himari?', Levi thought.

...

As soon as Himari got home, she went straight to her laptop and was searching something up on the internet.

After several minutes of searching, the female soon paused at a page, as her eyes widened.

"Mikasa.", Himari called in a hurry.

The raven haired girl had come over to the short girl's room.

"I...", Himari hesitated to speak up, "Um, I think I know what Petra was doing before she got killed.", she turned the laptop screen towards Mikasa.

Mikasa walked over and her eyes scanned over the content on the screen.

As her brain processed the information, Mikasa's eyes, too, widened in shock.

"Shit.", she muttered.

...

**The next day...**

Having learnt the new information yesterday, Himari was in a slight predicament.

As much as she wanted to tell Levi, the female did not want to say what she found out to the male.

And she had a reason for this.

Himari glanced over at Mikasa, the older female making eye contact with the short girl.

Mikasa, too, had been shocked at what she had found, so now both females were keeping this information from everyone.

In fact, Ymir, Krista and Sasha were unaware of what the two females had found, both Himari and Mikasa deciding that it'd be best if they kept quiet about it.

But Himari was beginning to feel guilty.

She knew that she has to tell the detective about everything that has been going on, but Himari did not want him to get entangled into this.

Because if he did...well, things are going to turn nasty once Levi finds out, that's how serious this was.

During their small break, Himari and Mikasa were in the girl's restroom, the females being the only two in the restroom.

"We have to do something.", Himari said.

"Unless we don't get evidence then we really can't take this against them.", Mikasa said.

Himari paused.

"Then let's just find it.", the short female said.

Mikasa looked at her friend.

"If we find the evidence, we can show it to Levi and the other detectives so that they can help us.", Himari said.

"You're really going to do that?", Mikasa said, knowing full well what Himari had in mind.

"Ah well.", Himari scratched the back of her head, "I really can't get it out of my head.", she looked at her hands, remembering that just a few days ago, her hands had been covered by Petra's blood, "I have to do this for her.", Himari said before looking up at the raven haired girl, "Would you stay with me?", she asked.

Mikasa gave her a small smile.

"I was never going to step out without you.", Mikasa said.

Himari smiled up brightly as she hugged the female.

"Thanks.", Himari felt reassured if her best friend was with her.

"Let's come up with a plan first.", Mikasa returned the hug.

The two females were more than best friends, they grew up together so they were practically like sisters. Neither were planning on leaving the other, they were going to stick together.

They knew how dangerous this was going to get soon so they were to keep each other's back.

...

**Several hours later...**

Himari walked down the corridor, carrying several sheets of paper in her hand to photocopy.

Since the photocopier at her department was getting used by someone and there was a queue waiting in line, the female headed to another nearby printer to get the copies done.

She was walking down the empty corridor and found no one by the printer which she was glad of.

The female placed one of the sheets inside so that it'd get scanned and was just about to press the number of copies that she needed when two voices caught her attention.

There was a door several metres away from the printer and the female could hear the conversation going on behind the closed door.

"This is getting out of hand.", Himari recognised this voice belonging to the CEO's secretary.

"I heard.", the female could not recognise this voice though.

"That officer is digging too deep.", the secretary continued.

Himari's eyes widened a slight fraction as Levi came into her mind.

"After all the work that we've put into this project, it could all get ruined because of him.", the secretary said.

"So what do you suggest?", the unknown man asked.

The secretary was heard sighing.

"This is only a problem if he's alive.", the secretary said.

Himari could feel her heart thumping in her chest, dreading the next words that she was about to hear.

"Finish him off.", the secretary said.

Her whole body stiffened once she heard this.

The photocopier suddenly made a loud whirring sound and one of the men was heard swearing because they knew that someone had overheard their conversation.

Panic washed over the female as the door handle turned.


	7. Chapter 7

The sudden noise from the printer gave away that someone had listened in to the conversation between the two men who were in the room.

Himari began to panic as she saw the door handle turn.

She was going to get caught.

...

The door opened and the CEO's secretary stepped out.

The man looked to the left, seeing the corridor was empty, he then turned in the direction of the printer.

Standing by the printer, he saw Himari pressing the digits for the number of copies that she needed.

Earphones were plugged into her ears, the wire going into her pocket where her phone was, as she pretended to listen to music.

With her hands in her lab coat pocket, Himari kept her eyes on the printer, watching the papers coming out. 

The whole time, her face was expressionless, not showing any signs that she had heard every word of the conversation.

The secretary was seen to sigh quietly before he went back inside the room, shutting the door behind him.

It was only then that Himari glanced back at the door.

Good thing she was able to think on the spot or else God knows what would've happened to her.

With her hands in her pockets, it hid the fact that her hands were trembling from fear.

She could feel her heart thundering in her chest, from the fright that she had gotten when she had almost gotten caught but also after hearing those words.

Once all the printing was done, she collected the papers in a hurry and headed back to her department.

The female pulled out her earphones from her ears, placing the pile of papers on the desk before going over to Mikasa.

"I-I need to talk to you.", Himari's voice almost shook.

Seeing the worry in Himari's eyes, Mikasa stood up and the two headed to the restroom.

The raven haired girl checked if the place was empty before turning to her short friend.

"L-Levi.", Himari felt as though her chest was tightened, almost like her breathing was getting restricted, "He's going to get hurt.", tears began to form in Himari's eyes.

"Himari, calm down.", Mikasa said with worry in her eyes, after seeing her friend was about to break down, "Tell me what happened.", she placed her hand against Himari's cheek.

"Th-They were saying that the officer was getting in the way of their project. And then the CEO's secretary hired someone to finish him off.", Himari said as tears began sliding down her cheeks, "Mikasa, th-they're going to kill Levi.", she said in a panic.

Although Himari was at awkward terms with Levi, after some time, the female had begun to think of him as a friend. 

Yesterday, when he had said that he had questions to ask about what happened the night that she found Petra, the male didn't dwell on the subject as much as she thought he would've done.

She could tell that he had only called her out to see how she was doing...in a quite indirect way, and Himari only saw this when he informed her about what's happening with the case right now.

Even though she had not told him the entire truth, the male had trusted her with information which he most likely would not have given to anyone just randomly.

So Himari had begun to appreciate the male's presence, of being there and just watching over her, especially in the last few days.

It may have started off as irritating but the female grew used to it.

Now that she has an idea of what Petra had been up to before her death, Himari wanted to find out what the exact reason for her murder was.

Having to overhear someone in her company planning someone's death made Himari frightened, the mere thought of someone trying to kill Levi made Himari's chest ache in pain.

She didn't want any harm to come to him.

"What do we do Mikasa?", Himari cried.

The 22-year-old wanted to see him like the times he would usually just pop up out of nowhere.

Mikasa thought for a second.

"You have his phone number don't you?", Mikasa asked and Himari nodded, "Give him a call.", she said.

Himari pulled out her phone with shaking hands.

She found Levi's name in her contact list, having gotten his number from the time he had texted her on the night Petra died.

Pressing the green call button, Himari put the phone to her ear.

Several rings later, the phone was still not picked up.

Tears welled up in Himari's eyes as she cut the call.

"He's not picking up.", Himari said.

Mikasa took the phone from Himari's hand and tried calling the male once more.

Even after the second time, the call did not go through.

The raven haired girl could see the panic in Himari's eyes.

"I want to see him.", Himari said while crying.

But Mikasa knew that it'd be a bad idea.

There were in the middle of work hours right now, and someone is bound to get suspicious if they left now.

Mikasa wiped away Himari's tears away.

"Just wait an hour.", Mikasa said.

Himari shook her head as tears still fell from her eyes.

"We'll go to his workplace at lunch.", Mikasa said.

"Mikasa-", Himari was cut off by the older girl.

"It'll be fine.", Mikasa reassured the girl as she pulled the short female into a hug, "It'll be fine.", she whispered.

Mikasa rubbed Himari's back, trying to calm the girl down.

After a few minutes, Himari finally calmed down, and the short female washed her face, trying to lessen the visibility of her red eyes from crying.

The two females headed back to their desk, Himari being distracted as she waited for the clock to tick faster.

...

**An hour later...**

Himari grabbed her coat and headed to the parking lot with Mikasa.

The raven haired girl drove to the detectives' workplace.

Himari was no longer in the crying state but more in the anxiety/panic state now, as she impatiently waited for them to arrive at the Survey Corps.

Without even letting the car come to a stop, Himari had already opened the car door as she ran into the building, while Mikasa stopped the engine.

Almost tripping up the staircase, Himari slid the scissor gate open before opening the metal door.

She quickly walked in, eyes searching for the raven haired male.

"Himari?", a female's voice spoke up.

Himari saw Isabel sitting at her desk, the older girl having been surprised by the visit from the short female.

"Levi.", the 22-year-old said, "I-Is he here?", Himari asked.

Isabel could see the worry in Himari's eyes.

"No, he isn't.", Isabel replied but she told the short female an address.

"Thank you.", Himari said before running out of the door in a hurry.

As the door shut, Isabel was left in slight confusion.

...

Himari headed back down the stairs as Mikasa was coming up.

"He's not here.", the female told Mikasa.

The two females then headed back to the car and Mikasa drove to the address that Himari had said.

Upon parking, they reached a slightly busy street.

Himari frantically looked around for Levi again.

Not seeing any sign of him, Himari walked up to people on one side of the street, asking about the detective as she gave the strangers a description about Levi.

Mikasa took the other side of the street.

"He wears a suit.", Himari said, "He has raven hair and drives a black Lamborghini Aventador.", she gave the most noticeable description to the strangers which she asked.

But the strangers shook their heads, not remembering anyone with that description.

**10 minutes later...**

Himari went up to a couple who were walking by, again giving the same description.

She saw the man pause before he looked behind, searching through the crowd.

The man's eyes finally found what he was looking for as he pointed. 

"Over there, by the small market.", the man pointed.

Himari followed the man's direction and soon enough she spotted familiar raven hair.

"Thank you.", Himari quickly said before running.

She ran past lots of people, over to the small market place where she had seen the male.

The female then stopped when she saw him.

Relief washed over the female as she finally saw his face.

Himari could finally breathe properly as the female was more than happy after seeing Levi.

The male had removed his suit jacket and was dusting the dirt off the black coat since it had gotten dirty after being involved in a fight.

Himari quickly made her way to him

Furlan was standing beside Levi, talking to the raven haired male.

The tall male was the first one to spot Himari and told Levi that the female was here.

The raven haired male turned his head just as Himari reached him.

Both males were surprised at what the female did next.

Himari hugged Levi, her arms wrapped around his torso as her head rested against his chest.

Furlan decided to give the two some space as he left some distance between himself and Levi.

The raven haired male stood quite stiffly as he looked down at the female.

"Himari!", Mikasa's voice finally snapped Himari out of it.

The short female let out a quiet gasp as she quickly released Levi, taking a step back.

Himari only now seemed to have realised that she had hugged the male.

The hug only lasted for around 10 seconds though.

The female looked up at him with her large chestnut coloured eyes.

Levi couldn't pinpoint the emotions visible in the female's eyes.

Was it fear?

Anxiety?

Relief?

There was just a mix of everything that the raven haired male couldn't identify anything.

"S-Sorry.", the female said quietly.

Himari took another step back, creating a distance from the raven haired male.

"I-I'm sorry.", she repeated.

Himari looked at him as if she did something wrong.

Because they weren't close enough friends to hug and Himari had no idea what came over herself to do that.

As his steel grey eyes never left her form, Himari soon broke the eye contact as she began stepping back before running over to where Mikasa was.

The two females were soon lost in the crowd and Levi had not moved an inch from where he stood.

His expression didn't show anything, yet his heart was furiously drumming against his ribcage.

...

Once Levi arrived back at his workplace, Isabel looked at the two males who had just returned.

"Levi, you know Himari was looking for you?", Isabel said.

"Well, she did more than looking.", Furlan teased with a smile.

Levi shot the male a glare before the raven haired male headed upstairs where his office was.

As Furlan told Isabel what happened, the female was heard chuckling.

The raven haired male sat at his chair before leaning his head back.

With an image of Himari staring up at him came to mind, the male closed his eyes as his face relaxed.

The male then pulled out his phone, having had it on silent, only now seeing the missed phone calls from Himari herself.

Levi stared at her name, wondering that it must've been urgent for those two phone calls. He then thought back to the hug which had taken him completely by surprise.

...

Himari buried her face in her hands as she thought back to what she did.

"It was an accident.", Mikasa said.

"But it was weird.", Himari looked up at her friend.

The two females had returned back to their company and were eating their lunch in the canteen after the long search for the raven haired male.

Himari was just embarrassed and also felt awkward for having hugged the male who she didn't know for long.

"Ugh.", Himari planted her head on the table, "Now I'm a weirdo.", she mumbled.

"I'm sure he won't think that you're a weirdo.", Mikasa said, making Himari look up, "He probably liked it.", she said with a small smirk.

Mikasa had been surprised to see Himari hug the male since she knew that the short female was not good with males. She had also seen that the raven haired male seemed to have looked at Himari with what seemed like soft eyes.

The raven haired girl just knew that the detective held some sort of feeling for her friend.

"Huh?", but Himari did not understand what Mikasa was talking about.

"Don't worry about it.", Mikasa said with the faintest of smiles.

Having finished their lunches, Himari was just about to stand up when her hands paused as she looked up at the TV that was in the canteen.

Himari's wide eyes made Mikasa turn around, the raven haired girl, too, looking at the TV in shock.

The programme was up on the news channel and they were talking about a car accident between a police car and another vehicle.

It seems that the police car was in a high-speed chase after a vehicle which was going over the speed limit before another car at a junction collided into the police car.

Both vehicles had been heavily damaged, the two officers who had been in the police car having lost their lives and the driver who had collided into them was in a critical condition.

But what had caught their eyes was the picture of one of the officers who had died.

It was the same man who had collected the details off Mikasa, the night Himari had found Petra's body.

"The officer.", Himari said quietly, "It was him.", she looked at Mikasa as the older girl turned around.

Himari and Mikasa were just realising that the officer which the CEO's secretary wanted dead had not been Levi but the officer who had been at the scene that night.

But why?

Himari looked at her empty tray of food.

'These people.', she thought, 'They're just taking people's lives lightly as if they're worth nothing.', she clenched her fists.

"I have a plan.", Himari looked at Mikasa with fierce determination in her eyes.

...

** The next morning... **

Himari took in a shaky breath.

Today, their plan was going to get put into action.

The female typed in a username and a password before her index finger hovered just above the enter key.

A small smirk made its way onto Himari's face as she pressed the key.

...

**5 minutes later...**

The CEO's secretary lightly knocked on Mr. Tsuji's door.

Hearing a 'come in', the man entered the CEO's office, shutting the door behind him.

He gave a bow to the man sitting behind the desk before speaking up.

"Sir, it seems that someone's activated Petra Ral's account.", the secretary said.

Mr. Tsuji's hand paused as he stopped writing.

The CEO looked at his secretary.

"Why is someone using her account?", the man asked.

A hint of trouble was visible in the CEO's eyes.

"I don't know sir.", the secretary replied.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?", the man raised his voice, "Locate the bloody computer that's being used!", he said harshly.

"Yes, sir.", the secretary gave a quick bow as he left in a hurry.

...

**Several minutes later...**

The CEO's secretary was seen to enter one of the rooms with computers, and Mikasa glanced up from her computer when the man had entered the room that she was in.

The male was standing just several rows away from Mikasa's desk and he was furiously searching for something.

The man soon left after that and the raven haired girl looked down under her desk.

Himari was hiding under the desk with an iPad in her hands.

The short female smiled up at Mikasa.

What most people didn't know about Himari, except for Mikasa, is that Himari is a great hacker.

The 22-year-old has always been good with computers but most people didn't know to what extent.

So right now, she had hacked into Petra's account, briefly going through all the files that the blonde girl had worked on.

Himari came out of her hiding space after some time, the older girl having hidden her friend very well under the desk.

No one would dare to suspect Mikasa, the raven haired girl being seen as intimidating by most of her colleagues.

...

**Several hours later...**

Himari and Mikasa walked down the corridor, coming back from their lunch break.

Both the females were pleased with how the plan was working out so far.

It was only the first stage, so whoever is behind this big scandal, Himari and Mikasa were going to find each and every one of them.

The raven haired girl spotted the familiar detectives from the other end of the corridor and she elbowed her friend.

Once Himari's eyes landed on the individuals walking on the other side of the corridor, the female stiffened as she recalled yesterday's events.

Levi was walking, with Furlan and Isabel following behind him.

"Just act natural.", Mikasa said quietly.

Himari had thought that she'd be able to walk past without being spotted but the raven haired male had his eyes on her the whole time.

"Miss. Matsuzaki.", Levi said as he stopped in front of Himari and Mikasa.

The two females stopped in their steps, Mikasa standing slightly back since she knew the male was here to talk to the short female.

"I heard that you were looking for me yesterday, was it an urgent matter?", Levi asked.

Considering the fact that Himari ran off without a word, Levi was still confused by her behaviour and also wondered why she had been looking for him in the first place.

"It's because I wanted to see you.", Himari said.

Furlan and Isabel looked away awkwardly with small smiles on their faces.

Levi just stared at Himari, not revealing anything in his facial expression.

Mikasa cleared her throat.

Himari's eyes widened for a second as she realised what she had said.

"Ah, but not like ' _see you_ ' see you.", Himari quickly said, "Just to-", she stopped herself from continuing.

The short female wanted to facepalm at the words that she was saying.

"Well, would you look at the time?", Himari grabbed Mikasa's hand and quickly walked past the detectives.

The two females were soon out of sight.

"Not a single word from the both of you.", Levi said without turning around.

Furlan and Isabel held in their laughters.

...

"That was very natural.", Mikasa teased the short female.

Himari shot a glare at the older girl before clicking her tongue.

She knew that was one of the stupidest things she's ever said and Himari was now beyond embarrassed.

Who the hell replies 'I wanted to see you', to a male she had _not_ known for long?

Levi was standing alone in the corridor, having sent Furlan and Isabel on an errand.

The raven haired male watched Himari talking to Mikasa, something work-related.

"Idiot.", he muttered under his breath.

Her words had definitely made his heart flutter and the female had no idea what she had done.

He watched Himari typing something on her phone.

Ignoring these little things that the female had done, Levi knew that something was up.

'She's up to something.', and Levi knew that for certain.

...

Himari and Mikasa were home at their apartment, both females having been looking through the files which had remained in Petra's account.

"There's nothing here.", Mikasa said as she leaned back on the sofa with a sigh.

Himari still kept her eyes on the laptop screen, pushing her glasses up her nose as she read the lines of numbers.

"Someone deleted it.", Himari said.

The short female looked away from the screen and focused on something that was on the wall, thinking about something.

"I've got another idea.", Himari said, looking back at her friend.

Mikasa looked at the short female.

Himari scratched her head awkwardly, trying to find a good way to put it into words.

"To access that unauthorised file, I need one of the manager's computers.", Himari began, "We can't do it during work hours.", she said.

The female sighed as she gave up on trying to find the right way to put it into words.

"So we need to break in at night.", Himari said bluntly.

Mikasa stared at Himari as if she said something outrageous.

Well, technically it _was_ outrageous, considering the fact that Himari just told Mikasa that she wanted to break into the company that they worked at, to get some unauthorised files.

It was a crazy idea.


	8. Chapter 8

"We need to break in at night.", Himari said.

"What?", Mikasa asked.

It was crazy enough to hack into the company's system, but to break into the building at night was even crazier.

"Well think about it Mikasa.", Himari began, "To get that file, we'd have to waste at least half an hour.", she said, "There's no way I can get it transferred during work hours so the only other opportunity where we wouldn't be caught would be during the night.", the short female said.

"Still.", Mikasa said, "That's quite a risk.", she said.

"I can take over the security system which would make it less of a problem for us.", Himari said.

"And how do you plan on doing that?", Mikasa asked.

Himari smiled up at the raven haired girl.

"You see.", Himari began, "There's a guy who's really trying to get your attention.", she said with a small smile.

Mikasa seemed to sense where this was going.

"No.", Mikasa said.

"Oh come on Mikasa.", Himari said, "You literally just need to flirt with him for like 2 minutes.", she said.

The older girl stood up from the sofa, heading to her room.

"Do it yourself.", Mikasa said.

"Flirting isn't really my thing.", Himari said with a sheepish smile, "But he seems to really like you.", she said.

"Himari.", Mikasa said with her warning voice.

"Please!", Himari pleaded to her friend.

Mikasa turned to Himari as she stood at her bedroom door.

The raven haired girl could not say no to those large chestnut coloured eyes which stared back at her.

The older girl sighed.

"Fine.", Mikasa said.

Himari smiled up brightly at this.

"Thanks.", she gave a quick hug to the older female, "Wear something nice tomorrow.", Himari said before skipping back to the living room with a huge smile on her face.

Mikasa shook her head with a small smile.

'You notice a random guy trying to get my attention but you don't see that detective who has his eyes on you.', Mikasa thought with a faint smile on her face.

...

**The next morning...**

Himari was prepared well for the next plan, Mikasa being the distraction of course while the short female had planned to handle all the technical things.

They were waiting until lunch to set the plan into action so now both females preoccupied themselves with their own work.

Himari had dressed up slightly so that it didn't make it seem strange since Mikasa also wore a dress.

The short female wore a black long-sleeved A-line [dress](https://www.yesstyle.com/en/supernova-long-sleeve-color-block-a-line-dress/info.html/pid.1062175281), along with tights and boots. To top it off was the uniform which consisted of the white lab coat.

The 22-year-old would already receive attention because of how attractive she looks, the dress only making more males look at her.

But Himari was never one to pay attention to males since she was never good at handling them, but today her mind was somewhere else.

Himari had just handed a file to one of her colleagues and was about to walk back with Sasha when someone down the corridor caught her attention.

With Sasha busy talking to one of the females from her department, the potato girl was unaware of where Himari's attention was.

Himari had spotted Naomi down the corridor.

Imara Naomi is a 25-year-old and was Petra's friend.

The short female had only spoken to her a few times, they weren't close friends but they were on good terms with each other.

After Petra's death, Himari had the urge to speak to Naomi but never found the chance to.

So the younger female watched the older girl who was stacking a few folders in a cupboard.

Himari's eyes travelled to the small movement above the cupboard and her eyes soon widened.

"Hey!", Himari shouted.

The short female dropped all the files that she had been holding as she ran over to the older girl.

On top of the cupboard that Naomi was standing in front of, was a tray containing small bottles of acetone.

The colourless liquid was not the problem.

There was a trolley close by the cupboard, holding a burnt out match with several other equipments lying on one of the shelves.

The problem here was the fact that acetone was highly flammable and seeing the cupboard was moving so much at the extra weight of the files being added to it, the bottles at the top of the cupboard were close to falling onto the trolley.

Himari had run in at the right time as she pushed Naomi out of the way, just as the tray of bottles smashed onto the trolley.

"Himari!", Naomi shouted with wide eyes.

"Shit!", Himari swore out loud, as the end of her lab coat caught on fire.

The short female quickly removed the lab coat, throwing it away from her as it was on fire.

The next second, a smoke of white cloud was sprayed onto the burning cloth, and Himari looked up at Sasha who was holding a fire extinguisher.

The brunette may get distracted when it comes to food but the potato girl had some really good timing.

Both Himari and Naomi quietly released a sigh in relief.

Himari winced, feeling a burning sensation on her left hand. The female lifted up her left hand and saw a blistered mark running along the palm of her hand.

She shook her hand from the pain, as she looked back at Sasha, who had literally saved them from starting a huge fire.

...

A lot of people had asked Himari if she was alright, news that her lab coat caught on fire had travelled around the company.

Himari's left hand was in a bandage but it hadn't caused a serious damage so the female was feeling fine. It only hurt at first but now the pain was all gone.

Right now it was lunch time, and Himari was sitting in the canteen with her group of friends.

The short female paused with the chopsticks in her mouth as someone came and sat in front of her.

Himari looked up at the raven haired male who was sitting with a tray of food in front of her.

With Levi sitting in front of Himari, Eren sat beside the raven haired male and next to him was Hanji.

"What are you doing?", Himari finally snapped out of her thoughts.

"Eating.", Levi said, stating the obvious as he picked up his chopsticks.

"I can see that but why here?", Himari asked.

Levi glanced at the female.

"We got permission to eat here.", Eren spoke up.

Himari looked at Eren before looking at Levi, to find the raven haired male already staring at her.

"That's just weird.", Himari muttered as she went back to eating, keeping her eyes on her tray of food.

Ymir was talking with Hanji, the two old college friends just catching up with everything.

Himari was pouring herself a glass of water when Levi suddenly caught her wrist.

She looked up at him.

His hand was holding onto her left wrist and the male had finally noticed the bandage on her hand.

"What happened to your hand?", Levi asked, his tone not revealing any of his emotions.

Surprised by the male's actions, Himari pulled her hand away from Levi's grip as she replied to him.

"There was just a small accident earlier today.", Himari said, having completely forgotten about the wound.

"That wasn't a small accident!", Sasha exclaimed, "You guys should've seen it.", she told the people at the table, "Himari's whole lab coat caught on fire.", Sasha said.

Himari rolled her eyes at how much Sasha was exaggerating.

"It was actually just the end of the lab coat.", the short female corrected.

"It still caused quite the chaos.", Ymir said.

Himari did not seem to be concerned about the aftermath of the fire, as her attention went to a male who was standing right at the back of the canteen.

Her eyes seemed to have brightened up as she elbowed Mikasa who was sitting beside her.

"There's the guy.", Himari whispered.

"I'm not going.", Mikasa whispered back.

"Just for two minutes.", the short girl had gotten to her feet and was pulling along her friend.

The two females left the table, Mikasa grudgingly being dragged along by Himari.

Levi glanced back at the person Himari had been looking at. The raven haired male then glanced at his left hand, the hand which had grabbed the female's wrist.

He finished his meal quite quickly before following behind the two females who had already left the canteen.

...

**7 minutes later...**

Himari was walking back down the corridor with a USB stick in her hand.

There was a small smile on her face because she had used Mikasa to distract one of the security guards. And while that was happening, the short female plugged the memory stick into one of the computers and copied over all the codes into the USB stick.

The short female had left the security room, leaving Mikasa behind, knowing that the raven haired girl can look after herself.

Himari was just about to reach the staircase when she tripped over someone's charging wire, and almost fell on the floor but caught herself in time. However, the female had lost her grip on the USB stick, sending it sprawling across the floor.

Getting her balance again, Himari saw the memory stick past the railing of the staircase. It was quite close to the edge so if it fell, Himari would most likely lose everything that she had collected.

Looking around to see if anyone was there, Himari climbed over the railing, being careful since she was wearing a dress.

The female glanced over the edge and saw that if she slipped, she'd be falling down the large height and probably crack her head open at the bottom of the staircase.

Himari took in a breath before letting go of the railing that she had been holding. The female then reached out for the memory stick, being careful not to knock it down, but it was out of her reach.

The short female took a slight step closer to the edge and reached out for the memory stick again and her finger just about brushed against the stick.

With a small sigh, Himari took yet another step and reached out, finally grabbing the USB stick, but it was at the same time that one of her foot slipped off the edge.

"Wah!", before Himari had lost balance, a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist from behind, keeping her steady.

Himari clutched onto the sleeve of the person with her free hand as she turned her head around.

Chestnut coloured eyes met steel grey eyes.

Levi was standing behind the railing and had caught the female just in time before she went falling down the large height.

The raven haired male picked the female up with ease, over the railing and to safety.

Himari released a small sigh in relief after the small fright she got from almost falling over.

With the female standing on one step higher than where Levi was standing on, Himari was just about the same eye level as the detective.

Though the female did not realise the close proximity as she was still gripping onto his sleeve after the scare she got.

"Woah, that was close.", Himari said, looking down over the railing, thinking that she almost fell over there.

"I heard a scream, is everything alright?", Miss. Maniwa had rushed over and asked the two if they were alright.

"Err..yeah, everything's fine.", Himari looked up at the woman who was standing on a higher floor.

The short female wrapped her right hand around the USB stick, hiding it from the woman.

Miss. Maniwa looked from Himari then to Levi, the raven haired male's stoic expression made it impossible for the older woman to see anything.

Seeing both the short female and the detective standing so close to each other, Miss. Maniwa assumed that it was some relationship matter and walked away.

Once the woman left, Himari looked back at Levi who was standing in front of her.

Her eyes widened a slight fraction after seeing that they were standing just centimetres away from each other. And it did _not_ make things any better when she realised that she was still holding onto the male, so she quickly let him go.

Himari wanted to facepalm because she had a feeling that Miss. Maniwa may have gotten the wrong impression after seeing the both of them standing so close.

The short female stepped away as she began to climb down the staircase.

"Well, thanks for earlier.", Himari looked back at Levi as the male climbed down the staircase with her.

"You have a way with danger.", Levi said.

This wasn't the first time that Levi had come to her rescue.

"Ah, that was just an accident.", Himari said.

"Was that meant to be a faster way to get down the stairs?", Levi asked, sarcasm audible in his voice.

Himari glanced back at the male.

"I just dropped something so I went to pick it up.", she said.

"And if I hadn't been there in time?", Levi asked.

Himari turned to him.

"Well here's the thing, you're always there when I need you so that makes it very easy for the both of us.", she said.

Levi raised his eyebrow.

"You need me?", he questioned, the male hiding his smirk very well.

Himari scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"Need your help.", she quickly corrected.

Sensing the atmosphere was about to go awkward, Himari decided it'd be best if she stopped the conversation there.

"Well, I have to get back to work now.", Himari turned around and continued walking.

The raven haired male just watched her leave with a faint smirk on his face as he headed somewhere else.

...

**Several hours later...**

Work hours had just finished and Himari was packing up her stuff, getting ready to leave.

She put on her coat and swung her bag on her shoulder before she glanced over at Mikasa.

"Aren't you coming?", Himari asked her friend.

The raven haired girl was still sitting at the computer.

"I just need to print these off, why don't you wait for me outside? It'll only take a few minutes.", Mikasa said.

"Alright.", Himari said as she headed out of the room.

Upon reaching the staircase, the short female spotted the familiar heavily-built man coming up the staircase, the same male who she had remembered seeing after stepping out of the CEO's office. The man was the CEO's bodyguard and was quite scary looking.

As she went down the staircase, Himari glanced back at the man who had one of the most serious faces before she shrugged off the male's aura which seemed to give off a spooky feeling.

Himari's eyes brightened up, once she caught sight of Krista.

The 22-year-old ran over to the much shorter girl and swung her arm over the blonde female.

"Krista! You finished early.", Himari said with a bright smile.

The blonde girl had been taking off-guard by the extra weight on her shoulders before she began smiling once she saw who it was.

"I'm actually picking up a parcel for Ymir so she's covering for me.", Krista said.

"Ah okay.", Himari said.

"You finished your work then?", the blonde girl asked.

"Yep.", Himari chirped happily since this was a rare time that she didn't have to work overtime, "I'm just waiting for Mikasa.", she said, pointing back to the building.

"Want me to drop you off?", Krista asked.

"Nah, that's alright.", Himari shook her head, "She'll only take a few minutes.", she said.

"Okay, then I'll see you back later.", Krista gave a wave as she walked off to her car.

Himari gave a wave before she leant against the wall while she waited by the entrance of the building for Mikasa.

Feeling the phone in her pocket vibrate, Himari pulled it out and saw a text message. She unlocked her phone and saw that it was a text from Levi.

Her eyebrow raised at this as she opened up the app to see what he had sent.

_**"What are you doing, still standing outside?"**_ , the detective had asked.

Himari looked up from her phone, looking around for the raven haired male.

When she couldn't find him, her phone vibrated for the second time.

_**"Behind you."**_ , Levi sent.

Himari turned around and saw Levi stepping out of the building with Hanji and Eren walking behind him.

Levi's eyes were already on the short female as he walked to where she was standing.

"Himari!", Hanji exclaimed after seeing the short female.

The 22-year-old wasn't too fond of the loud voice as she looked up at the scientist with an awkward smile.

"Shitty Glasses, go to the car.", Levi said coldly.

Hanji made a fake pouty face.

"So grumpy, aren't we Shorty?", Hanji hit Levi's back lightly.

The raven haired male shot her a glare.

"Alright alright, we're leaving.", Hanji pulled Eren along to the car.

The short female watched the two leave before looking back at Levi.

"I thought you guys left ages ago. Why are you still here?", Himari asked.

"For investigation reasons.", Levi said, "What about you? Didn't you finish your work?" , he asked.

"Yeah I did but I'm waiting for Mikasa.", Himari replied.

"Would you like to be dropped off?", Levi asked.

It seems that the raven haired male only has a soft side when it comes to Himari.

"Err..no it's fine, she won't take that long anyways.", Himari replied.

Levi glanced around, noticing that there were males waiting around, trying to find their opportunity to speak to Himari.

The male looked back at the short female, Himari being quite unaware of the attention she was receiving.

She tilted her head at his stare.

"What?", Himari asked.

Levi shook his head.

"Aren't you leaving with your colleagues?", she asked.

The male ran his hand through his hair with a small sigh.

"I'm wondering whether I should leave you alone with all these pests walking around.", Levi muttered under his breath.

"Hmm?", Himari had not heard his words though, as the chatters around had been louder than his voice.

Levi looked at her.

"Keep your eyes on your surroundings.", the male walked past and had lightly caressed Himari's cheek with the back of his left hand as he walked past the female.

Himari faintly touched her cheek where he had touched her as she looked back at the male.

Still being able to feel the warmth of his hand against her skin, the short female watched Levi walk to his car.

She scratched the back of her head in confusion.

"What's with that?", Himari mumbled.

The short female decided to wait by Mikasa's car, to stop herself from getting confused at the male's actions.

She was beyond confused as to why Levi had casually touched her like it was a normal thing.

Himari had just stepped out from under the glass roof when something fell with a thud right in front of the short female.

Her breath caught at the back of her throat, as the 22-year-old stumbled back in shock.

There was a body lying just a metre away from Himari's feet, blood splattered around the head as the person's head had cracked open because of the impact after the fall.

It was a female who was lying there on the ground in front of Himari, and the short female's eyes widened as she realised who it was.


	9. Chapter 9

A female was laying on the ground by Himari's feet, the body was completely still with blood surrounding its form.

Himari stared at the female with wide eyes as she realised who it was.

The dead female was none other than Imara Naomi.

The older female had landed on her front, the taller girl's eyes still wide open as blood splattered out of Naomi's mouth.

Himari's blood ran cold as she stared at the dead body which laid in front of her.

The short female began to step back until the wall met her back, preventing her from moving any further away.

Himari felt the surrounding air go completely silent and she couldn't even hear the screams around her as she stared at the body in complete shock.

Her skin was extremely pale as her eyes never left Naomi's still body.

The officers who had been by their car ran back towards the scene. Levi's eyes moved from the dead body to Himari who had not moved.

The short female was just overwhelmed with everything. First, there was finding Petra dead, then Himari had found out what the dead girl had been up to.

After that, matters only became worse as Himari had gotten a fright when she thought that Levi was going to get hurt. Next was the stress with hacking and now a colleague drops from one of the top floors, landing right in front of her.

Himari couldn't take it anymore.

Her breathing felt constricted as her chest clenched in pain.

Meanwhile, Levi ordered Hanji and Eren to keep everyone away from the crime scene to avoid people from destroying any evidence, as the raven haired male was making a phone call, asking for back-up and for the forensics team.

Once the phone call was over, Levi glanced up at the building, looking at the open window which the female had dropped from, before he looked back at Himari.

The raven haired male approached the short female.

As he stood in front of her, Levi noticed that Himari was unaware of his presence.

"Himari.", it was the first time that Levi had called the girl by her first name.

The short female looked up at him.

Her pale form and what seemed to be her frightened eyes, Levi knew that she was about to break soon.

"Levi.", the female's breath shook as she grabbed the male's sleeve.

Without another word, Himari wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head on his chest.

Levi stood still at the contact.

If Mikasa had been there, Himari would've hugged the female but since the raven haired male was the only one there, the short female wanted a comforting warmth immediately.

This wasn't the first time that they hugged but Levi could feel that this time was different.

He could practically feel her trembling body against him and Levi finally wrapped his arm around the female's waist.

A whimper escaped her lips before he felt her tears stain through his shirt. For the first time, Levi wasn't concerned about his shirt getting dirty as he tried to calm the female down.

Chokes of sobs escaped her lips as Himari began to cry all her pain out.

There was a limit to how much she could hold in, and right now Himari's emotions had reached its breaking point.

"What do I do? *hic* Levi what do I do?", she cried in his arms.

She's had enough of all the hiding.

One hand was on the back of her head while his other arm was wrapped around her waist.

The female clutched onto the back of his coat as she cried her eyes out.

...

**Some time later...**

Himari was sitting in Levi's car, the raven haired male driving back to his workplace.

Both were completely silent and only the engine of the car could be heard in the background.

Himari's tears had long stopped although her eyes were still red and swollen from having cried a lot.

The whole time the short female had stayed in the male's embrace, his mere warmth being a comfort to her as she cried out all the pain that she had felt ever since finding Petra's body.

She was surprised that the male had not pushed her away and let her hug him as she pleased.

Now that the female had finally let out everything, her thoughts were finally getting together, although her body felt quite worn out from exhaustion.

'I need to tell him.', Himari thought, 'They'll go after someone else soon. First Petra, then Naomi...who's going to be next?', her breath faltered at the thought.

Levi glanced down at the female who sat beside him as he stopped at a traffic light.

The raven haired male would never be associated with warm affection, but he had only shown his gentle side to Himari. He had let her calm down in his arms and that's something he would never let anyone else do.

Seeing her cry like that, Levi felt his heart stinging in pain because he didn't want her to go through such pain.

Levi had thought that she'd trust him enough and tell him what's wrong before she reached her breaking point that is.

"W-What.", Himari paused as she swallowed back her fear, "What do I do if I know why they were killed?", the female asked as she kept her eyes on her lap.

Levi's eyes widened for a split second before his facial expression turned back to his usual stoic face.

When there was no response from the male, Himari looked up at him and met his eyes which were already on her.

She was unable to see what he was thinking but under his gaze, the female felt like Levi could see everything that she had been hiding.

A car horn from the vehicle behind got the male to snap his eyes away from the female and look back at the road ahead as he continued to drive.

Himari looked back at her hands as she stayed silent for the rest of the journey.

Once arriving at the old building, Levi got out of his car and Himari stepped out as well.

She placed her hand against her head as she felt the whole world spin under her feet.

Himari felt dizzy, not only from the stress and the lack of sleep but also the shocking event that took place just a while ago.

"Levi, I don't feel well.", the female said just as she swayed and felt herself blacking out.

The last thing that she remembered seeing was Levi rushing towards her before her eyes closed.

...

**Several hours later...**

Himari stirred awake and slowly opened her eyes.

She blinked a few times to get her vision to clear up before beginning to sit up.

The female found a blanket draped over her body and she had been sleeping on a sofa bed.

She began to look around and saw that she was in an unfamiliar room.

It looked like an office and Himari spotted the desk with a golden plaque sitting at the table with the detective's name.

' _Levi Ackerman_ '

Himari realised that this was Levi's office and seeing the male himself was nowhere in sight, she began to get up.

She took note that her coat had been removed and was placed neatly behind a chair with her bag on top of the seat. Her boots had also been taken off and placed on the floor beside the sofa bed.

Putting on her boots again, Himari stood up and folded the blanket, placing it back on the sofa bed as she went over and picked up her coat and bag.

The female then headed out of the room.

Himari saw other rooms on the same floor but it was the voices downstairs that caught her attention. The short female then headed downstairs, following the voices that she was able to hear.

Once she reached the bottom of the staircase, Himari finally realised that she was still at the detectives' workplace, the office on the floor above had been unfamiliar because she had never been up the staircase.

The short female saw Mikasa sitting with the group of detectives, the raven haired girl standing up and walking up to Himari once she saw her friend.

"Are you alright now?", Mikasa asked.

Himari gave a small nod before she glanced at the other detectives, who sat in a circle, and were enjoying dinner together.

"Where's Levi?", Himari asked quietly.

Levi, Furlan and Hanji were missing from the group but the short female's attention had only prioritized the raven haired male's absence.

"He went out a while ago.", Mikasa replied before taking Himari's hand, "Come and eat with us.", she pulled Himari along to join the circle.

The group had saved Himari dinner as well and the short female ate the pot of noodles as they all talked about different things.

Himari did not involve herself in the conversation as her mind was still somewhere else.

She didn't know whether Levi had told the others what she had told him back in the car.

Did the detectives know that Himari knew the reasoning behind these murders?

Himari wondered that.

She silently ate her food as everyone else seemed to be in a cheerful mood while they talked.

Once they were done with eating a meal together, some of them went back to work and Himari was just walking up and down the room.

The short female paused in her steps when she heard the door open.

Himari looked up as Levi walked into the room.

The raven haired male made a brief eye contact with her before looking elsewhere.

"It's getting late, you two should go home.", Levi said.

Himari did not remove her eyes from the male.

She looked like a wounded little puppy as she stared at the male who did not turn back to look at her.

"Himari let's go.", Mikasa pulled the short female by the hand.

All the while, Himari kept her eyes on Levi.

As the short female was pulled along, it wasn't until the door shut behind the two females, did Levi turn to look at the door.

"Levi is it okay to leave it like this?", Isabel asked, "It looked like she wanted to say something to you.", she said.

The raven haired male turned away from the door as he headed for the staircase.

"For now, she needs to get a break from all of this.", Levi said.

As he walked into his office, the male glanced at the folded blanket which was on the sofa bed. Levi sat at his desk, closing his eyes as he remembered the way Himari looked at him back in his car.

The raven haired male opened his eyes again as he combed his fingers through his hair.

"Himari, you could've trusted me earlier.", Levi muttered with a small sigh, "But maybe it's my fault that you couldn't say anything.", he leaned back in his chair as he looked up at the ceiling.

...

**The next morning...**

After going home, Himari had begun to think that Levi no longer trusted her because she had hidden everything.

The short female was in a slight daze at work this morning as she sighed for what may be the tenth time today. Himari rested her head against the desk as she stared off into the distance.

The only reason Himari had told Levi that she knows the reason for the deaths, was because she was overwhelmed with everything.

At first, Himari had thought that she could handle it by herself, that's why she hadn't told the detectives the whole truth.

But now, everything was out of control and Himari felt that if she kept this to herself any longer, more lives will be lost and that's something the female did not want.

Although having Levi ignore her yesterday evening, Himari wasn't sure whether she'll receive any help.

The 22-year-old sighed again.

"Stop thinking about it.", Mikasa had come over and ruffled her hair lightly.

"He didn't even look at me.", Himari said.

Mikasa crouched down to Himari's eye level since the short female was sitting at her desk.

"Give it some time.", the raven haired girl said.

"Ooo, is it a break-up?", one of their male colleagues teased the short female since everyone seemed to have noticed that the female was feeling down.

Himari sat up as she shot the male a glare.

"Fuck off.", she snapped at him.

"We can go out for a drink if you're feeling down.", another male said.

"No thanks.", Himari responded before resting her head on the desk again.

The short female was unaware that the male was trying to invite her out but Himari wasn't exactly great at noticing men's intentions towards her.

Throughout the day, Himari seemed to be in a sluggish mood.

She was already feeling guilty enough for not telling the whole truth but seeing that the raven haired male was _not_ even making a single contact with her ever since yesterday evening, the short female was feeling down.

Her friends caught onto her mood but the atmosphere at the company was already depressing after Naomi's sudden death.

More police officers were seen roaming around the corridors but Himari's eyes searched for Levi and was having no luck in finding him at her workplace.

The end of the work day arrived, Himari and Mikasa having just reached the bottom of the staircase when they saw four long queues.

With slight confusion, the two females approached Sasha who had just joined one of the lines.

"Oi Blouse, what's going on?", Himari asked.

"A search apparently.", Sasha replied.

"For what?", Mikasa asked with a frown.

"I heard that someone stole a hard disk from one of the lab rooms upstairs.", a female who was standing behind the three friends spoke up.

Himari looked at the taller girl.

"But if it got stolen from another department, why are they checking everyone?", Himari asked with a small frown.

"Probably part of their regulations.", the female answered with a small shrug.

The short female looked back at the long queue before sighing.

**Half an hour of waiting around...**

After waiting for so long, Himari now reached the front of the line and the short female placed her bag onto this rolling leather tape as it went through a baggage scanner.

The 22-year-old then walked under a walkthrough metal scanner, before she was stopped by one of the male security officers.

"I need to search you.", the tall man who stood in front of Himari said.

The short female frowned at this.

"But the machine didn't beep.", the short female said, pointing back to the metal scanner. 

"I still need to search you, it's part of our regulations.", the man took a step forward.

Himari took a step back.

"If you need to search me, then get one of your female staffs to do that.", Himari said, feeling uncomfortable as the male was staring at her.

"For Christ's sake, I don't have the time for that.", he snapped, "Look, you're holding up the line so just hurry up and stand still.", the male said.

The male clearly had ill intention but none of his colleagues intervened with the man's actions since he was known for his aggressive behaviour. This meant that the others let him misuse his power and feel up attractive girls whenever he found his chance.

He was about to grab Himari's arm but a strong hand caught the man's wrist before it even touched Himari.

The short female looked up at the person who had intervened and saw the familiar raven hair.

"Levi.", Himari's voice was barely a whisper as she looked at Levi who soon came and stood in front of her, his back was facing her as the raven haired male kept his hold on the taller man's wrist.

"Who the fuck are you?", the security officer couldn't pull his hand away from Levi's strong grip.

The raven haired male looked up at the tall male with cold eyes.

All the workers and security officers stared at the two males.

"You filthy bastard, don't you dare touch her.", Levi's cold tone held severe threat as he glared at the taller man.

"Fuck you-", the security officer was unable to finish his sentence as Levi twisted the man's arm with his single hand.

The taller man cried out in pain as he clutched onto the arm which was in Levi's death-like grip with his free hand.

The raven haired male then shoved the taller male to the ground and the security officer laid there on the floor, holding onto his arm in pain.

"We found the hard disk!", someone exclaimed from afar as some were unaware of the scene which had just been caused.

Levi turned back to look at Himari.

The short female looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

"Get your things.", Levi said before he turned around and began heading to the entrance.

Himari snapped out of her thoughts as she grabbed her coat and bag. The short female glanced back at the security officer who was still on the floor before continuing to follow Levi out.

Once they were outside, Levi stopped in his steps as he turned to Himari, the female coming to a stop as well.

He stared at her for a couple of seconds before speaking up.

"Come to my office at 6 PM today, we have things to discuss.", Levi said as he put his hands in his pocket and was about to walk away when Himari spoke up.

"I'm sorry.", Himari said.

The raven haired male glanced back at her.

"I didn't mean to keep things a secret.", Himari said while looking at her feet, "Things kinda led to it.", she said.

Levi fully turned around to face the short female.

"I know.", the male said.

Himari looked up at him.

"You believe me?", she asked while tilting her head, having assumed that the male no longer trusted her.

Levi stepped up in front of the female, leaving just a few centimetres of a gap between them.

Himari did not step back as she looked up at him.

"So please trust me in this as well.", Levi said.

The back of his hand lingered close to her cheek but he did not touch her.

Staring at Himari for a few more seconds, Levi finally stepped back as he headed to his car without a word.

The female watched him walk away before she was snapped out of her thoughts when someone called her name.

"Himari.", Mikasa walked to her friend, "Did he do anything to you?", she asked.

"No.", Himari shook her head, "He just asked me to come to his office at six today.", she said.

"Are you going?", the older girl asked.

"Yeah.", Himari replied before she paused, "I have to tell him everything.", she said.

"Himari.", Mikasa began, knowing that they could get in serious trouble for the things they've done.

Hacking isn't taken lightly as a case and Mikasa was worried for her best friend.

"There could be another death if we continue to do this our way.", Himari said before glancing back in the direction that Levi had walked in, "I don't think that Levi's a bad person.", she said, "So I want to trust him.", Himari looked back at Mikasa.

"And risk everything?", Mikasa asked.

Himari smirked slightly.

"We've already risked enough, haven't we?", Himari said.

A small smile made its way onto Mikasa's face.

"Alright then.", Mikasa said, "So what are you going to do about the break-in?", she cocked her head to the right with a small smirk on her face.

"Ah well.", Himari began with a sheepish smile, "About that.", she scratched the back of her head, "We're doing it tonight.", Himari said.

Mikasa facepalmed at this.

Himari was not backing out of the idea of breaking into the company late at night, even after talking to the detective and this only seemed to amuse the raven haired girl.

Well, Mikasa had known that Himari wasn't going to back down, whether she receives the detective's approval or receives his objection.


	10. Chapter 10

Both Himari and Mikasa had gone home, having a quick meal, the two got changed from their work clothes and dressed in more casual clothes as they left their apartment.

The raven haired girl was driving and for a while, the short female sat silently in the car.

"We could get arrested for this, couldn't we?", Himari asked.

"Yep.", Mikasa said.

There was a few seconds of silence before the older girl spoke up.

"Though you're a bit late in realising this.", Mikasa said.

Himari smiled lightly at the comment as she looked out of the window.

The 22-year-old had everything prepared for tonight's event.

After finishing her business with the detective, discussing whatever it was that he wanted to talk about, the two females had planned the break-in at their company.

Well, that _was_ the plan anyway.

Himari took in a breath as she climbed up the staircase with her friend.

The short female had left her bag in the car since the small backpack could bring suspicion to them.

So now that the two females walked into the detectives' workplace, Himari was beginning to get nervous.

"Mikasa! Himari! Come in.", Eren greeted them inside and the two females walked in.

The short female's eyes scanned over the group of detectives who were in the room, her eyes falling on the raven haired male.

The male had previously been reading through a thick booklet which he held in his hand before his eyes had moved to the door at the mention of the 22-year-old's name.

Placing the pile of papers on one of the desks, Levi's eyes had not left Himari's form.

The short female stared at the male, quickly diverting her eyes away when his eyes almost locked with hers.

The group of detectives soon gathered around as Himari and Mikasa were given chairs to sit on. A few of the detectives took the sofa while others grabbed nearby chairs.

Isabel passed around a tray of coffee, the hot drinks having been made by Levi.

"The reason behind your colleagues' deaths, what is it?", Levi asked.

The raven haired male was leaning against a table with a mug of hot coffee in his hand. The detective wasted no time and got straight to the point.

"Ah, about that, I'm quite sure of the reasons for Petra's death, though for Naomi I can just guess.", Himari began.

The short female pulled her eyes away from the group of detectives who stared back at her before she glanced at Mikasa.

"Petra...well, she was definitely up to something before she was killed.", Himari said, "Before she died, she mentioned that our company was doing something though she didn't specify what that was.", she said.

"So your company had something to do with her murder?", Armin asked.

"Err..yeah.", Himari said, "Petra did say, not to trust anyone there, so I assumed someone wanted her dead.", she said.

"What is it that your company is doing?", Eren asked.

"Well I actually don't know the specific details but I have a broad idea.", Himari said, "They're working on a new project.", she began, "A classified one at that.", the female said, "So only selected workers know what the whole thing is about.", Himari said.

The detectives listened to the short female.

"We think it's a project for a new medication.", Himari said, "Petra found one of the experiments conducted for this project, under the name Kruptos.", she said, "That file isn't in any of the drives for our departments but Petra had found that file and even carried out a lab report for it.", Himari paused.

The short female remembered Petra giving the file to her, the blonde girl requesting Himari to have a look through it, though the 22-year-old never got a chance to do that since the file was taken away by one of the managers.

But Himari had remembered seeing that name in the folder and even though she had no idea why she hadn't heard of such experiment, Himari now knew the reason for it.

"Someone must've found out that Petra managed to access that classified data and wanted her dead before she had the chance to reveal it to anyone else.", Mikasa continued off where her friend left off, seeing that Himari was still thinking about the past.

The reason why Himari had never heard of such an experiment, was because if this was classified information, none of the workers had the slightest chance of accessing it.

But Petra had been able to access it because Himari had given the blonde girl a short cut and this had led to the older girl's death.

"So the reason why the cleaner was at the scene with Miss. Ral, do you know the reason?", Furlan asked.

It was still a mystery why the cleaner had run out of the alleyway, having obviously seen the murderer but just run off like that.

"We have no idea.", Mikasa said.

"Alright then, so we have an idea for Miss. Ral's and Miss. Imara's reasons of deaths. That leaves us with the deaths of the Chairman from Sina Pharmaceutical Company, his bodyguard, and we also have the cleaner from your company.", Isabel said, "If this secret project was the reason for Miss. Ral's and Miss. Imara's deaths, then the three other victims had something to do with it.", she said.

The rest nodded at this since it seemed like a logical explanation.

Levi's eyes were still on Himari, having listened to her side of the story but the male still felt that something was missing. He brushed off that missing part and asked her another question that's been on his mind for some time now.

"So what have you been up to?", Levi asked.

Himari looked up at the male.

He _really_ could see right through her mind.

The short female looked away.

"Oh, you know just hacking through the company's system.", Himari mumbled really quickly, "Just the usual.", she brought the mug to her lips to stop herself from spilling anything else.

"You're what?!?", a few exclaimed, although there was no surprise in Levi's expression, just the slight amusement in his eyes because of the female's response.

"It's really not as bad as it sounds-", Himari quickly stopped herself from continuing since it was just making the situation worse.

Mikasa cleared her throat as the older girl took over.

"We just looked through the files that Petra had been completing.", Mikasa said.

Himari quietly drank her coffee since she had caused quite a surprise with her blunt words.

The short female glanced at her watch.

"It's not like we found anything special.", Mikasa said.

The raven haired girl really knew how to smooth out a misunderstanding, but it wasn't going to last long if Himari were to accidentally spill something else.

Himari set her finished mug of coffee on one of the tables as she stood up.

"You guys probably have a lot to do now so we'll just take our leave.", Himari said.

The short female didn't get very far since Levi had blocked her path.

"Not so fast.", Levi said.

The raven haired male set his mug on the desk before looking at Himari.

He took a step towards her with a small smirk on his face.

"You must know how to retrieve this file then?", Levi said.

Himari gulped, afraid that she'd spill their plan for the break-in since the male was making her even more nervous than she already was.

"I-I guess.", Himari responded as she took a step back.

"With your abilities, I'm sure you can get this file without a problem.", Levi began stepping towards the short female.

Himari began to take small steps back as the raven haired male was approaching her.

"I-I'd need one of the manager's computers t-to get the file.", Himari stammered because of her nervousness.

"Is that so?", Levi said.

His eyes never broke the eye contact and Himari began to feel pressured to tell the male.

Himari was pulled back by her arm and the short female landed against Mikasa.

"We're breaking into our company tonight to retrieve the file.", Mikasa said, "Is that a problem?", she glared at the detective.

Levi glanced at the taller girl before looking at Himari with slight amusement in his eyes.

"No.", the male replied before he paused for a mere second, "Mind if I tag along?", Levi asked with the faintest of smirks on his face.

Himari and Mikasa looked at each other.

...

So their original plan had been to break into their company without letting the detectives know, but it seems this had not gone the way that they wanted.

A black car pulled up on the street opposite to where the company was.

"Yeager, get the engine started once you get my call.", Levi said.

"Yes, sir.", Eren said.

Eren had driven and the male was to stay in the car while Levi and Furlan accompanied both females inside.

They began getting off the car, Himari being the last one but the short female had stopped to talk to Eren.

"Oi Eren, what kind of detective is fine with hacking and trespassing?", the short female asked her friend, "Do you guys do this often?", Himari asked.

"Himari hurry up.", Mikasa pulled the girl out of the car since the younger girl was taking so long.

Himari stumbled out of the vehicle and almost crashed into someone's chest, but the female caught herself in time.

She looked up and met a pair of steel grey eyes which stared back at her.

"Ah sorry.", Himari stepped back from having stood so close to him.

He stared at her with a raised eyebrow before he turned around and continued to walk.

The four crossed the road and stood in front of a large wall.

Furlan knelt down in one knee, placing one hand over the other. Mikasa placed one of her feet on his palm, using the male's help to climb over the wall.

Once the older female was over the wall, Furlan looked at Himari.

The short female did the same as her friend, placing one foot on Furlan's palm, the male giving her a small lift to help her climb over the wall.

Himari being quite short, the female needed help climbing down from the other side and Mikasa was there to help her friend down.

Once standing on the ground again, Himari looked up to find Levi already there.

"How did you get over?", Himari asked.

"You'd be surprised at what he can do.", Furlan said with a smile, the tall male having just climbed over.

The four walked to one of the back doors, Himari having already disabled the alarms since she had hacked through the company's security system.

It was pitch black inside and switching on the lights was _not_ an option so they used flashlights as they walked down the corridor.

"This place is a lot creepier at night.", Himari muttered as she grabbed Mikasa's wrist.

The short female wasn't scared of the dark but being in a large building which was pitch black inside, it put Himari on edge.

And it didn't help with the fact that two colleagues had already died, one death taking place at this very building.

So yes.

Himari was feeling slightly scared but not completely terrified.

"Relax, it's just us here.", Mikasa reassured her friend.

Levi glanced back at the short female, taking into account the way that the female was looking around anxiously before the male looked back ahead.

"Looks like we're splitting from here.", Mikasa said.

"Text me once you've put the memory stick in.", Himari said.

"Yeah.", Mikasa said.

Mikasa and Furlan walked in another direction while Himari and Levi were heading to another department.

After walking in silence, Himari finally spoke up.

"I thought you'd be against this whole thing.", Himari said.

"This seems more interesting than an interrogation.", Levi said.

The female smirked slightly at this.

"So you would encourage break-ins?", the short female asked with a small smile.

"Not if you're involved.", the raven haired male said.

Since the male was walking slightly ahead, the short female was following behind. As the male had uttered those words, Himari just stared at the back of his head.

Himari wondered why it mattered to him whether she got involved or not.

But she had actually meant it as a joke so she didn't expect the raven haired male to take it so seriously.

They continued to walk in silence after that.

Upon reaching the computer room, Himari made her way to Miss. Maniwa's desk.

Passing by the rows of desks, the female approached the computer that the older woman usually uses.

Meanwhile, Levi had shut the door quietly and walked to the desk that Himari was standing by.

He leant against the wall as he watched the female with the faintest of smirks on his face, though his thoughts were interrupted when his phone began vibrating.

Pulling it out from his suit jacket, the male put his phone to his ear as he answered the call.

_**"Levi, there are a few security guards walking around."**_ , Furlan told the male.

The raven haired male paused for a second.

_**"Alright, be careful and don't get caught."**_ , Levi said.

_**"Yes, sir."**_ , Furlan said.

Both males hung up and Levi walked over to Himari as he slid his phone into his pocket.

The short female had been taking her laptop and wires out from her bag when the raven haired walked up to her and began putting her things back into the bag.

"Oi what are you-", the female's voice was muffled as Levi covered his hand over her mouth.

The male's eyes went to the door, being able to hear a pair of footsteps in the distance and a flashlight shining on a nearby wall.

Himari followed his gaze and realised that someone was approaching the room that they were in.

The female removed the male's hand from her mouth as she quickly put her things back in her bag.

As the footsteps approached closer, both Levi and Himari hid under the desk just as the door opened.

Himari's heart was drumming in her ribcage as she heard a pair of shoes clicking against the floor, the individual having entered the room.

The short female had just managed to shove everything into her bag when Levi had pulled Himari under the table, a second before the door was opened.

So now, here Himari sat under the desk, her back pressed against the detective's chest, practically sitting on his lap as she hugged her bag to her chest.

Her heart thundered in her chest as she heard the pair of footsteps walking past the rows of desks, slowly approaching the place where they were hiding.

Not only was she getting nervous because they were close to getting caught by whoever entered the room, but having the detective at close proximity behind her, Himari could feel that her whole body was tense.

She could feel Levi's soft breathing hitting against the back of her head, and Himari was doing her best trying to ignore her rapid heartbeats.

The short female held in her breath as a pair of black shoes came into her line of vision, seeing that the security guard who had just entered the room was now walking down the row of desks where they were hiding.

The flashlight was approaching closer and Himari tightly shut her eyes.

Levi, on the other hand, stared at the pair of shoes which walked by. The male's steel grey eyes watching every movement of the security guard.

The detective watched through the crack of the desk that they were hiding under, seeing the security guard heading for the door. 

Levi's body was definitely on guard, in case they got caught, the raven haired male's top priority was to keep the female safe from any harm.

The door was heard opening before the security guard walked out, continuing with his rounds.

Only when the footsteps faded away, did Levi let out a small sigh.

He turned back to the female who he had pulled against him.

"He's gone.", Levi said.

Himari turned around and was met by a pair of steel grey eyes which were already staring back at her.

Their faces were just a few centimetres away from each other and the female did her best not to get distracted by his eyes.

"Y-Your arm.", Himari said.

Levi stared at the female in silence before he reluctantly released his arm from around her waist, finally allowing her to stand up.

The male soon stood up from under the table as well, while Himari began setting up her things.

The detective grabbed a nearby chair and sat down, his eyes never leaving Himari's form.

The short female had logged into the computer and was already copying the files over to the laptop which sat beside her. She was wearing her glasses, concentrating on accessing the classified files, so the female was unaware of the eyes which stared at her.

Levi watched the way Himari bite her nails while waiting for something to load and the way her eyebrow furrowed slightly while reading. His eyes had softened as he stared at the girl who sat just a few metres away from him.

Although he snapped out of his thoughts when the female spoke up.

"That's weird.", Himari muttered quietly.

Levi stood up and walked to where Himari was sitting.

"Everything's written in Greek.", Himari said, pointing to the computer screen as she glanced back at the male.

Levi's eyes scanned over the foreign language, finding it strange that someone had intentionally written everything out in a different language so that only those who know Greek, are able to understand all the information.

"It'll take over a day to translate everything.", Himari said.

"How long will it take to finish downloading?", Levi asked.

The female checked her laptop.

"Around 5 more minutes.", Himari replied.

Himari sat silently in her seat, starting to feel uncomfortable since Levi hadn't moved from standing behind her. The female was more than glad when the download finally finished and she began to pack up her stuff.

Once she was done, the two then made their way to the door, Levi checking if the coast was clear before he stepped out with the female behind him.

Switching on the flashlight again, they began walking down the dark corridor.

Himari was still on edge while walking in the dark building, getting the feeling that she could hear voices echoing down the empty building.

When Levi stopped walking, the female almost bumped into his back but managed to stop herself from colliding into him.

She looked up at him as he turned around.

Levi then held out his hand.

Himari looked at his hand before looking up at him.

"What do you want?", she asked, not knowing why he had stopped.

"Your hand.", Levi replied.

"Huh?", the female looked at him with confusion.

"You're scared, aren't you?", the male said, "So you can hold my hand.", Levi said with a straight face.

"T'ch, I'm not scared.", Himari snapped at him.

Hearing voices in the distance, it caused the short female to release a small gasp.

"What was that?", Himari asked as she quickly grabbed the hand that the male had offered while looking around anxiously.

Levi smirked slightly at the female's behaviour.

She looked back to where the voices were beginning to get louder as the male switched off the torchlight.

"Hey, why did you turn that off?", Himari asked in a hushed whisper.

"It looks like we have company.", Levi muttered.

Levi tugged the female along as they began running in the dark, Himari not being able to see where they were going since it was pitch black so she was just following along the detective's hand that was holding her.

Taking several turns, they burst through a door and hid behind it as footsteps were heard approaching.

Himari was pressed up against the wall while Levi stood in front of her, the male's eyes on the open door next to them.

The door may block them from being seen but two security guards came walking in through the open door.

"I think I heard something.", one of the men said.

"Go and check upstairs, I'll do the rounds downstairs.", the second man said.

Himari looked up at the raven haired male, the detective's eyes watching the two security guards.

With Levi's face being turned towards the right side, the female who stood in front of him could see the left side of his face.

Although it was dark, Himari could just about make out a red line behind Levi's ear, it looked like a scar and the female couldn't help but stare at him.

Her eyes were too focused on the male's face that she hadn't expected Levi to turn back to face her. Himari twitched at being caught staring and the male felt her movement through her hand that he was still holding.

Though, Levi did not comment on her behaviour and just stared at the short female as they heard the pair of footsteps fade away.

The two could neither go upstairs nor downstairs as they would be spotted by the guards, instead Himari found another route as she snapped out from her trance since she had been staring at the male's eyes.

"This way.", Himari tugged the male's hand as she led him towards another corridor.

The female's eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness as she walked down the corridor while holding onto Levi's hand.

After several minutes walking in silence, yet again, another pair of footsteps was heard nearby.

Levi pulled the short female into an empty corridor, the two hiding behind the wall as they quietly listened to where the sound was approaching from.

Himari peeked her head from around the corner and spotted a familiar male walking down.

Sensing the footsteps were getting further away from where they were hiding, Levi tugged Himari's hand to get her to move but the short female pulled the detective down to her height as she pointed in the distance.

"That man.", Himari pointed to the tall male who was walking away.

She had instantly recognised him from a distance, a small frown evident on her face as she wondered why this male was here at the company during the night.


	11. Chapter 11

"That man.", Himari pointed to the tall male who was walking away.

She frowned as she recognised the male.

Levi followed the female's gaze, watching the male who was heading in the opposite direction to where they were standing.

After a few seconds of staring, Levi pulled Himari along to exit the building.

"Hey wait Levi, that man.", Himari said in a hushed whisper.

The raven haired male turned back to look at the female.

"We have to leave.", the detective said.

The short female hesitantly followed behind, glancing back one last time at the tall male who was heading elsewhere.

Spotting Mikasa with the other male detective, Furlan, the short female quickly pulled her hand away from Levi's grip.

Levi glanced back at the female.

"I'm fine now.", Himari said since she didn't want Mikasa to get the wrong idea if the older girl were to see that she was holding hands with the detective.

The short female walked past Levi, joining Mikasa along the corridor.

Levi looked down at his right hand, the warmth of the female's hand beginning to fade away at the sudden loss of contact.

Closing his hand into a fist, he opened his hand again before sliding his hands into his pockets.

The male followed behind the two females who were leading the way, with Furlan following beside Levi.

After walking for a while, they had just stepped out of the building and were standing in front of the same wall that they had climbed over earlier tonight.

Himari turned back to look at the detectives and only found Furlan standing there.

The female looked around, finding no signs of Levi.

"Where's Levi?", Himari asked the male.

"He had some business to take care of.", Furlan replied.

"So we leave without him?", Himari asked, slightly confused since she had definitely remembered the male following behind but had no idea when he had disappeared.

Were they still inside the building when Levi left?

Himari wondered that.

"He'll be here very soon.", Furlan said, "It'll only take a minute.", the male said, "Meanwhile we should go back to the car before someone sees us.", he said.

Still unsure whether to leave him or not, Himari finally made up her mind after a few seconds.

Furlan crouched down as he placed one hand over the other to help the females climb over the wall.

The short female was first to climb over the wall.

"Himari, be careful.", Mikasa said, "It's slippery up there.", she said.

While they had been in the building, it had been drizzling outside and even though it was light rain, the ledge of the wall was still wet and slippery.

"What?", Himari did not pay attention to the surface of the wall and actually went slipping forward.

"Himari!", Mikasa shouted.

The short female's eyes widened before she tightly shut her eyes, waiting for her body to meet the concrete.

But the hard impact never came, instead, the female found herself lying on something firm.

Himari opened her eyes and was met by a pair of steel grey eyes.

With Himari having slipped over the other side of the wall, Levi had arrived at just the right time to catch the girl, although he had fallen back by the sudden force.

Now the short female was laying on top of the detective after the fall, as she finally opened her eyes, staring back at the male.

"Himari, are you alright?", Mikasa was just climbing over the wall.

Himari's eyes widened as she came back to her senses.

"Err...s-sorry.", Himari stuttered out as she quickly got off the male before getting to her feet, "Ah y-yeah, I'm fine.", the short female said as Mikasa hurried to her friend.

"You're not hurt?", Mikasa checked Himari hands and arms to see if the younger female got any wounds from the fall.

"No, I'm fine.", Himari said.

Levi got to his feet, dusting his suit which had gotten slightly dirty from having landed on the ground.

Furlan was more than surprised at Levi's state as he hurried over to the raven haired male.

"Levi, what happened?", Furlan asked.

"It's nothing.", Levi brushed off the male as Himari made eye contact with the raven haired male.

The short female quickly looked away.

Himari was already feeling awkward because she fell on top of the male, and to make matters worse, the female had actually stayed frozen when her face was only a few inches away from the male's face.

His eyes made her heartbeats thunder in her ribcage and the female wondered whether the male heard it since their chests were pressed against one another.

As they headed to the car where Eren had already started the engine, Himari shook her head from getting herself distracted by what just happened.

The short female stayed silent during the car journey as she barely listened to the conversation between Mikasa, Eren and Furlan.

They soon arrived at the females' apartment complex and Himari snapped out of her thoughts when the car stopped.

Furlan got out of the car first, to allow the other two females out.

"See you guys tomorrow.", Eren said.

Mikasa said her goodbye before she stepped out of the vehicle.

Himari looked up to find Levi staring at her, the male sitting in the seat beside Eren's.

"Y-Yeah bye.", Himari said as she looked away before following after Mikasa.

Furlan stepped into the car as the two females headed into the building.

Himari sneaked a glance back at the car, seeing that Levi's attention was on Eren as he was saying something to the younger male.

The short female looked away just as Levi looked back at Himari.

The 22-year-old seemed to have her head in the clouds as she walked straight into a glass door.

"Ow.", Himari muttered as she stepped back while rubbing her forehead with a small frown.

"Look where you're walking.", Mikasa said with an amused smile, finding the younger girl's clumsiness funny.

"T'ch.", Himari clicked her tongue while rubbing her forehead as she walked into the building with Mikasa.

Levi had watched the whole scene with a small smile before Eren started driving once again.

'She hasn't changed at all.', Levi thought with a faint smirk on his face.

...

**The next morning...**

Himari rubbed her eyes as she headed to her desk.

The female had worked on the translation of the file for several hours last night so she was slightly tired from the lack of sleep.

She was more than glad for a small break after the hours of work, as she stood by the printer with Mikasa.

While talking to the raven haired girl, the short female became aware of the hushed whispers around them.

"What's going on?", Himari asked as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

Except for the males standing around, the whispers were coming from the female colleagues.

"He's here! He's here!", someone said excitedly.

"He's coming this way.", someone else said.

"How's my hair?", another female said.

"Do I look okay?", a female said.

Wondering what all the commotion was about, Himari was finally given the explanation for all of the whispers when Mikasa elbowed the short female and gestured to the corridor.

Himari followed her friend's gaze, to find who had been the centre of attention.

"Oh.", was all Himari said as she saw Levi walking down the corridor.

It seems that the male's popularity was only increasing as all the females were just captivated by the detective's attractiveness.

But Himari wasn't like the other females as she turned back to Mikasa.

"What's he doing here?", Himari asked quietly.

"Well, you can ask him when he comes over to you.", Mikasa replied with an amused smile.

"Huh?", Himari turned back to see that the detective was indeed heading over to where she was standing.

The short female looked back at Mikasa to find the older girl walking away.

"Wait Mikasa-", Himari was cut off by the older girl.

"I've got reports to finish.", Mikasa gave a small wave as she walked away, leaving Himari by herself.

Himari was really hoping that the male wasn't coming over to her as she quickly collected the pile of papers from the printer, ready to escape.

"Miss. Matsuzaki.", the raven haired male said.

The short female stiffened before she looked up at the detective.

Her plans of escaping had _not_ gone very well.

"Err...Levi, what brings you here?", Himari asked, the female feeling slightly awkward.

"Shitty Glasses needed a few things.", Levi said.

"Oh.", Himari said quietly.

The female was beginning to feel uncomfortable as Levi kept his eyes on her, not once looking away.

"You didn't get enough sleep?", Levi asked, completely changing the subject.

"I was working on some stuff.", Himari replied.

The short female was tensed up slightly as she remembered last night's events.

Work was also an excuse for not getting enough sleep, but when she had actually gotten into bed, her brain replayed an image of Levi's eyes again and again.

After that, the 22-year-old was unable to fall asleep. There was just something about the way he stared back at her that made her heart clench in a foreign way.

Himari had not yet gotten over yesterday so it didn't help the female when the detective stood at close proximity to her.

It seems that the male was not giving a care about her personal space, invading her little comfort zone like the same way that he had done last night at his workplace.

The short female took a small step back, for the male to only take a step forward.

"Will you be dropping my office this evening?", Levi asked.

"Err...probably.", Himari looked away, "Once I'm done with work here, I'll come by.", she said.

He didn't have an intimidating aura and it wasn't that she hated his presence, but there was something about the air Levi gave off, that made Himari feel nervous.

She just wasn't sure why that was.

"Then I'll look forward to seeing you again.", Levi said.

Himari looked up at this as the raven haired male's eyes held slight amusement.

"I...umm...I-I need to get back to work now.", Himari stuttered, completely taken off guard by his words.

She didn't even wait for him to say anything as the female quickly walked away, almost bumping into the wall in the process.

This only seemed to amuse Levi even more as a small smirk made its way onto the male's face.

The detective ran a hand through his hair as he walked back to the car park where Hanji was waiting. The whole purpose of his visit was just to see the short female, having used the scientist as a mere excuse.

When Himari returned to her desk, she got several looks from her female colleagues. Nearly everyone had seen how close Levi was standing to the short female, so anyone would assume what kind of relationship the two had.

...

"That detective came by.", the CEO's secretary said.

"I thought the investigation for Miss. Imara's case was coming to a close.", the CEO, Tsuji Kiyohisa, said.

"If it's the handsome detective, then he's probably here to visit his lover.", Miss. Maniwa said.

"A lover at this company?", the secretary asked.

"Miss. Himari Matsuzaki, she's quite close to that young man.", the woman said.

"Himari Matsuzaki.", the CEO repeated the 22-year-old's name, "A name that's come up more than once.", the man paused as he leaned back in his chair, "Junichi, keep an eye out.", Tsuji said.

Kai Junichi is the CEO's bodyguard, the male having quite the scary looking face.

"Of course sir.", the heavily-built man gave a bow.

"There was no problem with the doctor?", Tsuji asked.

"No sir.", the bodyguard replied, "Everything's being taken care of.", he said.

...

Himari planted her head on the desk after a few hours.

She had to work overtime now since the reports weren't finished yet and they were due tomorrow morning. This wouldn't have happened if one of her colleagues didn't make a careless mistake, which led to the delay of her report.

It was already past 4 PM and Mikasa had gone home a while ago.

A few remained in the department room so the 22-year-old wasn't the only one in the large room. Himari sat up before she began typing away again with a small sigh.

**An hour later...**

Himari suddenly remembered that she had to drop by Levi's workplace to tell him how far she's gotten with the file which she had copied during their break-in last night.

Seeing how she still wasn't done with work today, the female knew that she'd be finishing late.

At first, Himari was going to call Levi to let him now that she probably wouldn't make it today since she was going to finish work so late, but the female paused once she remembered what had happened earlier today.

Not wanting to stutter through a phone call, Himari took the safest option and called Eren instead.

_**"Hey, Himari what's up?"**_ , Eren asked.

**_"Well you know how I was meant to drop by today, I'm a bit busy with reports so I don't think I'll be able to make it."_** , Himari said, **_"Is it alright if I come tomorrow instead?"_** , she asked.

**_"Just give me a sec, I'll ask Furlan."_** , Eren said.

Himari waited for a few seconds, hearing the distance chatters as Eren was speaking to Furlan.

**_"Yeah, Furlan said it's fine."_** , Eren came back.

**_"Okay, thanks."_** , Himari said before she paused, ** _"Hey Eren."_** , the female began.

**_"Yeah?"_** , Eren waited for the female to continue.

**_"Is Levi not there?"_** , Himari asked.

**_"He went with Armin to meet a doctor for the case."_** ,  Eren said.

**_"Oh, I see."_** , disappointment was audible in Himari's voice.

**_"Why? Did you need him for something?"_** , Eren asked.

**_"What? Err...no. I was just wondering."_** , Himari said stammered, **_"Then I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."_** , the female had quickly hung up before facepalming. 

'Why the hell did I ask about him?', Himari thought.

Eren stared at the cut phone call before shrugging as he went back to work.

Furlan informed Levi that Himari was not coming by since she was busy with work. The raven haired male having returned with Armin, around 20 minutes after Eren's phone call.

Levi had not shown any emotion at the mention of the female not being able to come by, but Furlan could sense that the raven haired male had wanted to see the 22-year-old.

...

**Around 7 PM**

When Himari finally finished with her report, it was already so late.

The female packed up her things and put on her coat as she left the building.

It was already very dark when Himari walked to the bus stop, the bus not taking too long to arrive.

Himari texted Mikasa that she was on her way back home as she sat in the bus.

**15 minutes later...**

There was still several stops left before Himari would reach her area but the bus driver announced that the vehicle will be terminating here.

As all the passengers got off, Himari checked to see when the next bus would arrive.

Seeing that she'd have to wait 40 minutes, Himari decided to walk the rest of the way. It would only take 20 minutes and Himari was already tired from the lack of sleep so she didn't want to wait for double the time.

Himari began to head home on foot.

The female tensed up as she saw a group of males just sitting on the pavement, smoking and drinking alcohol.

Tightening her grip on her bag, Himari kept her head down as she walked.

It was always this area that she hated walking by. She wouldn't have minded if someone was there with her, but walking past this place always made her feel uneasy.

The group of males noticed the short female and one of them wolf-whistled to get her attention as the rest chuckled.

Himari did not look up as she continued to walk, ignoring their presence.

"Miss, you're walking alone at this time?", a male was heard asking.

"Why don't we accompany you? It'll be a lot safer.", another male said before he chuckled.

Himari picked up her walking pace.

"Miss, we're speaking to you.", a man blocked Himari's path and the female felt her stomach lurch in fear.

The short female stopped in her steps before she collided into him.

The male blew a puff of cigarette smoke on her face with a smirk and Himari looked away in disgust as she took a few steps back.

"What do we have here?", he leant down to look at Himari's face but the female only looked away, keeping her eyes on the ground.

She was never good in situations like this.

Himari may have a sharp tongue but talking to males was always an issue for her. Groups of men always gave Himari an uneasy feeling, so this situation was making the female feel frightened as she paled slightly.

The female heard the men behind her standing up and knew that she had to get out of here before things get dangerous for her.

Gathering up her courage, Himari pushed the male who was standing in front of her before she began running. She could hear their footsteps close behind as she quickly ran away before they could catch her.

While running down the dark street, Himari did not see the ramp as she tripped over it. Her hands scraped against the concrete as a little whimper escaped her lips.

The female picked herself up, the front of her coat was covered in dirt as well as her trousers.

She winced when she felt her hands sting and she looked at her palms to find fresh grazes on her skin, blood rising to the surface of the wounds. Tears pricked up in her eyes but she quickly blinked them away.

With trembling hands, Himari stumbled to her feet when she heard the males approaching close by.

The female continued to run as she turned a corner, glancing behind to check if the males were following behind.

Since she wasn't looking ahead, the short female collided into someone.

The person had been holding a cup of coffee which spilt onto the male's shirt because of the collision.

"Oi, look where-", the male stopped as he saw the female.

"S-Sorry sir-", Himari looked up and finally realised who she had bumped into, "Levi.", her voice was a whisper before she grabbed his hand.

The raven haired male did not get mad over the spilt coffee, or the fact that his shirt was now stained, as his eyes studied the female's features.

He took note of the way her face was pale, her eyes slightly red and the way that she was out of breath. The male knew that something was definitely wrong, but it was the female's hand which confirmed his guess.

Levi remembered the feel of Himari's soft, warm hands from yesterday night, but as the female had grabbed his hand today, the raven haired male was not feeling a soft texture but a slightly prickly one.

While Himari held onto Levi's left hand, keeping her head down as she knew that the group of males were just around the corner, Levi lightly grabbed Himari's wrist by his right hand. He gently removed her hand from his, as he turned it over to see her palm.

The female's skin was slightly torn and covered in dried blood now. 

His eyes flashed a spark of anger which the female did not see.

Returning back to his normal expression, Levi looked down at the female.

"Himari.", Levi said.

The short female looked up at him to meet his eyes before looking away again.

She didn't know how to ask for his help and with a few seconds remaining, her heart raced in her chest out of fear.

But the detective did not need an explanation as five males ran out from around the corner. They looked around before finding the female they had run after.

"Miss, did you run in search of your boyfriend?", one of the males said as the rest chuckled at the comment.

"What's the midget going to do?", another said.

Furlan was going to go and hit them because of the tone that they were using with Levi, but the raven haired male held up his hand as his eyes death glared at the five males.

Levi left Himari's side as he began walking towards them.

As one of the males ran towards the detective, a single hit sent the thug collapsing unconscious.

The remaining four men stepped back in disbelief as they stared from their unconscious friend who was lying by Levi's feet, then to the detective whose eyes told them that they were dead meat. 

Without another word they ran away, not wanting to be beaten to death by the detective with the murderous glare.

Himari was calming down slowly.

"Himari, are you alright?", Eren asked.

"Y-Yeah.", her voice shook slightly.

The female looked at Levi as the raven haired male stared back at her.

Her hands were still trembling as she formed them into fists, trying to hide the wounds.

"Himari come on, I'll drop you off home.", Eren grabbed the female's wrist.

The 22-year-old snatched her hand away quickly.

"No, I-I'll go h-home myself.", Himari rubbed the wrist that Eren had grabbed, as she pulled down her coat sleeve.

She glanced at Levi once more before walking away.

The group of detectives who stood there, this including Levi, Eren, Furlan, Isabel and Armin, watched the younger female walk away.

"Furlan, follow her and make sure she gets home safe.", Levi said.

"Yes, sir.", Furlan began following behind the female.

"And Furlan.", Levi called the male back.

The tall male turned around.

"Don't lay a single finger on her.", Levi said.

Furlan gave a bow as he went to keep an eye on Himari to make sure that she doesn't get hurt on the way back.

Levi watched Himari leave out of his sight before looking at Armin.

The blond male taking it as a hint to speak up.

"Perhaps it's some sort of phobia.", Armin said, "I'd say androphobia, a fear of men.", the blond male said, "Not extreme but you can see the subtle signs.", he said.

Levi looked at his left hand, remembering the wounds on Himari's hands.

"Yeager, there's some business we have to attend to.", Levi looked back at the unconscious male who was slowly beginning to wake up, "A few bastards to pay back.", the detective's eyes turned cold as he stared at the male he had punched.

...

Himari was walking down the street, close to her apartment now, as she heard footsteps following behind. Her body instantly stiffened, naturally reacting to the events which took place just several minutes ago.

Turning around, she saw that it was Furlan and the female relaxed at this.

The male gave her a small bow and Himari turned back around, feeling reassured that someone was here just in case something were to happen again.

Himari knew that it must've been Levi who sent Furlan and she also knew that she had to thank the raven haired male for saving her from those men. However, right now, she was close to tears and just wanted to go home.

The female wiped the few tears which slid down her cheeks, not wanting to cry in the middle of the streets.

She reached her apartment complex and headed to the lift. Once inside, Himari saw Furlan standing outside, giving her a bow once again since he was going to head back. She gave a small bow in return for his help as the lift doors shut.

The male waited until the lift had reached the correct floor before heading back.

Himari went to her apartment door, hands still shaking as she opened the door.

"Himari, what took you so long? I thought you finished at seven.", Mikasa said.

The short female broke right there as she saw her friend.

Bursting into tears, Himari ran into Mikasa's arms.

The raven haired girl hugged the younger girl with worry in her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?", Mikasa asked softly.

Himari pulled away from the older girl.

"M-Mikasa *hic* there were these guys.", Himari began as tears slid down her cheeks.

The older girl instantly now knew what was wrong, and knowing how Himari would have reacted in that kind of situation, Mikasa was worried.

"Did they hurt you?", Mikasa asked in a serious tone as she grabbed the younger girl by her shoulders.

Himari shook her head as she tried to wipe her tears away with her injured hands.

"Levi.", the girl sniffed, "Levi was there.", Himari said.

Mikasa brought Himari into a hug after seeing the injuries on both of the younger girl's palms. The older girl knew how shaken up Himari must've been. 

The raven haired girl had always known that the short female was never comfortable when it came to talking to more than one male at the same time, Himari had always shown signs of fear as if they were ganging up on her. 

Himari has always avoided speaking to males since a very young age, always coming to Mikasa whenever things like this happened.

So it had been a slight surprise to the older girl when Himari had gone out with someone just several months ago, the break up probably having hurt the younger female since it had been her first relationship after all.

Mikasa always took it as her duty to protect her friend from any harm, although tonight she hadn't been there.

"It's alright now.", Mikasa rubbed Himari's back to calm the girl down.

Himari will have to face her fear sometime soon because Mikasa may not always be there like tonight.

...

**At Levi's workplace...**

"That doctor's dead, so now what do we do?", Hanji asked.

What had happened earlier, was that Levi received a phone call from a doctor who claimed to have important information.

Levi was no fool to believe what anyone says but this unknown doctor had mentioned information about the new project that Maria Pharmaceutical Company were secretly working on. His information coincided with what Himari had said yesterday night so the raven haired male decided to pay the doctor a visit.

So the detective had left with Armin to the address that had been given over the phone, only to find a break-in. The inside of the house was a mess and soon enough they found the victim to be none other than the doctor who had called Levi just several hours ago.

"Someone wanted him dead.", Levi said, "Or someone knew that we were coming.", the male said.

But the detective picked the first scenario.

Levi just had a gut feeling that the doctor had only called him because he knew that he was being threatened and the dead man wanted to reveal all the information before he gets killed. 

Although it was definitely too late.

While taking a break, some of the detectives had dropped by a café to get something to drink since they had been working for hours non-stop.

Once stepping out of the café, Levi's stress seemed to have disappeared once he saw Himari but after seeing the female's frightened state, he knew that something was wrong.

Then he had just handled everything, now getting back to his workplace after hitting those who had tried to hurt Himari.

Levi was wrapping a bandage around his right hand, his knuckles still bleeding from the number of punches.

"Then who is this someone?", Isabel asked.

Levi leaned back in his chair as he picked up his mug of coffee.

"That's what we need to find out before another death.", the raven haired male said.

...

**At the CEO's household...**

Mr. Tsuji Kiyohisa was sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine in his hand as he flicked through the channels on the TV.

"Sir.", his secretary walked into the living room.

"What is it?", Mr. Tsuji asked, not removing his eyes off the TV screen as he tried to find a program to watch.

"Someone's made a copy of the Kruptos file.", the secretary informed the man.

Tsuji's thumb stopped pressing onto the remote control as he turned to his secretary.

The man's glare told him to speak up.

"We weren't able to find, to what device it was copied to.", the secretary quickly continued, "And they seemed to have used codes which easily broke through the whole software.", he said.

"When was this?", the CEO asked.

"I presume it's last night.", the secretary said.

"And the CCTV?", the man asked.

The secretary paused.

"That seemed to have been hacked as well.", he finally replied.

Tsuji leaned back on the sofa as his mind began to work.

"So it's an inside job?", the man thought to himself as he brought the glass to his lips.

After a few seconds of silence, the CEO turned his attention to his secretary.

"Which computer did they get the data from?", he asked.

"Miss. Maniwa Kiyomi.", the secretary replied.

The CEO paused.

"Call her over.", Tsuji said.

The secretary nodded as he left the room.

Tsuji then picked up his phone from the table as he dialled a number.

**_"Sir?"_** , a male voice spoke up from the other end.

**_"Someone's trying to bring light to my project."_** , Tsuji said.

It was silent on both ends of the lines.

**_"I don't want anyone to stand in my way."_** , the man continued.

**_"Who is becoming a hindrance, sir?_** ** _"_** , the man on the other line was none other than the bodyguard, Kai Junichi.

**_"Maniwa Kiyomi."_** , the CEO said.

**_"Understood sir."_** , he said,  ** _"I will take of care her."_** , the bodyguard said.


	12. Chapter 12

**The next morning...**

Himari was feeling much better than she had yesterday evening.

Her hands were not so much in a good state, both of her hands having been wrapped in bandages because of the wounds. There was another wound on her right elbow but that wasn't visible since she was wearing a long-sleeved jumper.

The 22-year-old was more quiet than usual as she got on with her work.

The female was not expecting to see Levi from across the corridor and when her eyes met with his, she looked away.

As much as she wanted to thank the male for yesterday, Himari was still wary of males at the moment.

She was hoping that she'd walk past without being stopped but the detective had no intention of walking past without a word.

"Miss. Matsuzaki.", the male spoke up as he stopped in front of her.

Himari looked up as she met his eyes.

Steel grey eyes removed themselves from Himari's face before travelling down to look at her bandaged hands. His eyes moved back to her eyes once again.

"Will you be able to come by today?", Levi asked.

Himari was relieved that he didn't ask anything about yesterday.

"Yeah I think so.", she replied, "I don't have overtime today.", Himari said, quite glad that she won't be going home alone again, especially after what had happened yesterday.

"Please look after yourself.", the male said softly as he walked past the short female.

Himari looked at the ground before turning around and grabbing the male's sleeve before he walked any further. She held onto the end of the suit's sleeve as she kept her eyes on her feet.

"Um...thanks for yesterday.", Himari said quietly as she released her grip on his sleeve.

The raven haired male gently caught her hand before it lowered back to her side.

"For you, I'd do anything.", the detective said.

As if those words weren't enough, Levi did something that surprised the short female even more.

The back of Himari's right hand was placed in his palm as he bent down and gently pressed his lips against her bandaged hand.

Then just like that, Levi released her hand before walking away.

Himari's right hand just hung there in the air as she stared back at the male, having frozen from his actions.

"Did I miss something?", a female spoke up from behind.

The short female had not yet moved from the frozen position.

"Himari.", a hand was placed on the younger girl's shorter, causing her to jump slightly.

"Huh?", Himari snapped out of her thoughts to see Ymir standing behind her.

"What was that just now?", Ymir asked.

"What was what?", Himari asked.

Her brain had not yet processed what just happened so Himari was not fully over the detective's actions.

Ymir raised her eyebrow at this as she looked at the hand that Himari was still holding out.

Himari quickly lowered her right hand as her cheeks flushed into a bright shade of pink.

"T-T-Toilet.", Himari stuttered out, "I-I need the t-toilet.", the short female stammered as she ran away from the taller female.

Ymir began chuckling at this as she walked away while shaking her head with a small smile.

**Several hours later...**

Himari was in a slight daze as she rested her chin on the desk while staring at her right hand.

She remembered the feeling of the male's soft lips against her bandaged hand.

Her hand had previously been hurting since the wounds were still stinging, but after the detective's kiss, her whole hand had gone numb and the only thing she felt was the warmth of his lips.

 ** _"For you, I'd do anything."_** , the male's words rung in her head.

Himari scratched her head, wondering why he had said that.

And then there was also the kiss on her hand.

The female was confused at the male's words and actions.

"Himari.", a female spoke up a little louder as a hand was placed on the short female's shoulder.

Himari snapped her eyes away from her right hand as she looked up at the person who stood behind her.

Mikasa stared at her friend.

"Lunch.", Mikasa said.

"Huh?", Himari seemed to be quite slow today.

"Its time for lunch, aren't you coming?", the raven haired girl asked.

"Oh right.", Himari processed the words, "Yeah.", she stood up from her seat as she walked alongside the older girl.

"Are you alright? You seem to have your head in the clouds.", Mikasa said.

"Err...yeah, I'm fine.", Himari did not want to embarrass herself and tell her friend what had happened.

But it seems Ymir had other plans.

As Himari sat down with her tray of food, having just brought the pair of chopsticks with noodles into her mouth, Sasha bluntly asked a question.

"I heard that the handsome detective kissed you, is that true?", Sasha asked.

Himari choked on her food before she began coughing.

"I'll take that as a yes.", Sasha said seeing the short female's state.

With tears building up in her eyes since Himari had swallowed wrong, the 22-year-old wiped her eyes before speaking up.

"He did not.", Himari said although her cheeks tinged a light shade of pink.

"Oh really?", Ymir raised her eyebrow as she stared at Himari with a small smile.

Himari quickly looked away.

"T'ch.", she clicked her tongue.

Even Himari was confused by the kiss so she had no idea how to explain this to her friends.

Her eyes landed on an unfamiliar individual at the managers' table. The managers from every department shared one large table together and it was one of the tall males that Himari did not recognise out of the rest of the managers.

"Who's that?", Himari's focus had changed.

Her friends followed her gaze and glanced at the male.

"Oh you didn't hear?", Krista said, "Miss. Maniwa got fired and they've hired someone else now.", the blonde girl said, "Mr. Saiki Norinaga.", she said.

"I heard that he's really strict.", Sasha continued, "He had his whole department redo reports since it didn't meet his standard.", she said, "And if that wasn't bad enough, they all have to meet the deadline this evening.", Sasha said as she shovelled down her food.

Himari looked back at the male.

He looked around in his early 30s, with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. The male's facial features seemed to show wrinkles where a frown would usually be present in between his eyebrows.

"Why did Miss. Maniwa get fired?", Himari asked with a small frown, since she remembered seeing the older woman yesterday.

"No idea.", Sasha replied, "But whatever she did, it must've been bad enough for her to get kicked out of this place.", she said.

Himari brought her attention to her food as she played with the pair of chopsticks, not eating the noodles.

'It'll only take a day to find out that their system had been hacked so they should have known yesterday.', Himari thought to herself, 'If they know about the hacking, then they must've tracked it down to Miss. Maniwa's computer.', she paused, 'Then that woman-', Himari stood up from the table.

"Hey, aren't you eating?", Ymir asked since Himari had barely touched her food.

"I'm not really hungry.", Himari said, "I need to make a phone call, I'll be back in a bit.", the female grabbed the chocolate muffin, "Blouse, the rest is for you.", Himari said as she walked out of the canteen.

The brunette was more than glad for the extra food as she had already finished her lunch and was taking Himari's tray of food.

Himari pulled out her phone and was dialling a number as she took a bite out of the muffin.

It rang two times before it was picked up.

 _ **"Miss. Matsuzaki."**_ , she heard the detective's familiar voice.

 _ **"Levi, are you nearby?"**_ , Himari asked as she walked down the corridor, heading for the staircase.

 _ **"Yeah, I'm nearby."**_ , Levi said.

 _ **"Do you think that we could meet up?"**_ , Himari asked, _**"There's something I need to tell you."**_ , she said.

There was a pause on the other line before the male spoke up again.

 _ **"I'll be there in five minutes."**_ , Levi said.

 _ **"Okay."**_ , Himari said before hanging up.

She then looked at her phone, thinking that the detective must very closeby because he said that he'd be here in five minutes.

With a small shrug, Himari walked to the entrance of the building while eating her muffin, unaware of the pair of eyes which watched her.

Himari finished eating her muffin just as Levi's black Lamborghini Aventador pulled up.

Seeing that the raven haired male still had the engine running, Himari took it as a hint to step into the car.

As she took the seat beside the male, the detective continued to stare at her.

"Seatbelt.", Levi said.

Himari put on her seatbelt as he began to drive again.

"Did you have lunch yet?", Levi asked.

"I just had a muffin.", Himari replied.

The male glanced at her.

"I can tell.", Levi said with an amused smirk.

He casually brushed off the chocolate crumb from the corner of the female's lips as he continued driving, changing the gears with the same hand which he had used to touch the female.

Himari faintly touched the corner of her lips, the male's touch having surprised her.

She forced the blush down as she cleared her throat while looking away.

"Are we going somewhere?", Himari asked.

"To get lunch.", Levi replied.

"Umm..but I need to get back to work.", Himari said.

"You still have over half an hour left.", Levi glanced at his watch before looking at the female.

Himari looked away.

"Fine, whatever.", she muttered.

Going out for lunch with the detective had not been part of her plan. But it seems that whenever it involves the raven haired male, nothing ever goes to plan for Himari.

So she quietly sat in the car as the male drove to a restaurant.

They were given a table for two and the raven haired male ordered for the both of them.

As they waited for their meals, Levi finally asked her what she had wanted to tell him.

"Oh yeah, do you know Miss. Maniwa Kiyomi?", Himari asked.

Levi's expression told the female that he didn't know who she was referring to.

"Err..do you remember the computer that I hacked into two days ago? That was Miss. Maniwa's computer.", Himari explained.

The male seemed to recognise who she was talking about as he gave a small nod.

"Well, I heard that she got fired today and there's a replacement who's been hired in her place.", Himari said.

"Is the replacement a problem?", Levi asked.

Himari shook her head.

"No that's not it.", she said, "I don't think that Miss. Maniwa got fired.", Himari said, "I think something happened to her.", she said.

Levi waited for the female to elaborate.

"I used codes to get into her system that time.", Himari said, "That means it would take just under a day to figure out that the system has been hacked.", she said, "From there, they could easily track down the computer we got the data from, but not where the copied file is.", Himari said, "Say if they knew that it was Miss. Maniwa's computer, whoever is in charge of this project will think that Miss. Maniwa was the one who copied everything.", she said, "Wouldn't they try to harm her if they assumed that she's the one who did everything?", Himari asked.

Himari was feeling partly guilty because she had been the one to hack that woman's computer and had probably gotten her into trouble, but Himari also suspected that the older woman was somehow involved in Petra's death, as well as Naomi's death.

She didn't believe that someone could get fired within less than a day. The female had remembered seeing the woman yesterday, yet Miss. Maniwa was now gone from the company.

Levi was already taking his phone out, making a phone call to Furlan.

Himari silently sat there as she listened to the detective give out orders to the male on the other side of the phone call as lunch was served to their table.

Once the phone call was over, Levi stared at Himari.

"Aren't you eating?", he asked.

"I was waiting for you.", Himari said as she picked up the pair of chopsticks.

It was only polite to wait for everyone before eating a meal so the female didn't notice Levi's expression falter for a second at her words.

They began eating and Himari's eyes lit up after eating a piece of beef, the female enjoyed eating meat from time to time.

"Woah, this is really good.", she said with a bright smile.

She was unaware of the way Levi's eyes softened once seeing her bright smile. Himari did not realise that Levi watched her from time to time as they ate their meals, the male's eyes showing such warmth that it would surprise anyone.

...

Levi paid for both of their meals.

Himari had been planning to share out the price since she wasn't the kind of person to take someone's kindness for granted. But the female didn't bring her bag with her, having only carried her phone in her pocket while everything else was back at the company.

So Himari had told him that she'd pay him back once she sees him this afternoon since she was planning to drop by his workplace anyways, although the male didn't seem to care about the money.

Now Levi was heading back to the Pharmaceutical Company to drop Himari off.

**Some time later...**

As Levi stopped the car in front of Himari's workplace, he looked at the female beside him, to find her sleeping with her head resting against the window.

A small smile made its way onto Levi's lips as he stared at the sleeping girl.

Himari had clearly not slept properly yesterday night after what had happened and having been given a warm meal to eat, the female had dozed off without realising.

Levi changed gears as he began driving again.

Himari still had 15 minutes left to get back to work so the raven haired male continued driving around the block in circles, allowing the female to have more time to sleep.

Within ten minutes, Himari stirred awake. 

Rubbing her eyes while she sat up, the female glanced at the detective who was parking by her workplace for the second time today.

Stopping yet again, Levi turned to look at Himari, amusement slightly visible in his eyes.

"Umm..thanks.", Himari muttered as she took off her seatbelt before stepping out of the car.

Levi waited until the female got into the building and was about to drive away once she was out of his sight, but stopped in his actions when a silver car drove past his car.

It was the male in the silver car that caught Levi's attention.

Kai Junichi sat in the driver's seat of the silver car, the CEO's bodyguard making direct eye contact with the detective.

Levi glared at the male as the car drove past.

The raven haired male then looked back at the building that Himari had walked into before he began driving again.

There was something going on through Levi's head.

...

**Several hours later...**

Once work was over, Mikasa and Himari dropped by their apartment because the younger girl needed to pick up a few things before they arrived at the detectives' workplace.

Levi was already downstairs as Himari and Mikasa walked into the room.

The raven haired male set the paper that he had been reading aside as he approached the shorter girl.

Himari handed him the papers which she had been working on, containing only half of the translation of the file.

"This is only the first half, I'm still not done with the rest.", Himari said.

Levi gave a small nod as he flicked through the pages.

"The overview?", Levi wanted a brief summary of the file before he reads it since Himari is more of an expert at this than he was.

"Well, it's a medicine for children.", Himari explained, "Those with terminal illnesses.", she said, "So far they've done trials on patients with cancer, leukaemia and coronary artery disease.", Himari paused, "At first, the children seem to be getting better.", she said.

"But what happened after?", Levi asked.

"I...I don't know.", Himari looked away from the male, "Several of the kids began showing side effects after three months into the trials.", she said with a frown.

The female was still unsure of the exact explanation since the person who had written out the details was very vague in the details concerning about the long term effects.

"The medicine is the cause of the side effects then?", Levi said.

"Most likely.", Himari said.

Levi handed the papers to Furlan, the tall male taking it over to Isabel to look through it.

The raven haired male looked back at the female.

He could tell that she was troubled by this so he didn't want to pressure her into continuing if she didn't want to.

"If it's too much, I can take over from here.", Levi said.

"Err..no, it's fine.", Himari said quickly, "I can handle it.", she said.

Himari was curious about all these deaths so she wanted to help as much as she could.

"I'll ask if I need help.", Himari said.

"You have a tendency of not asking for help.", Levi had said it so quietly that only the short female had heard.

Himari looked up at the detective.

She was aware that she kept things to herself most of the time, usually uncomfortable with sharing things with others. Since the female was a quiet person, not many people would notice if something bothered Himari. 

Mikasa would be the only one to notice Himari's discomfort but now it seems that there's another person who could see right through her.

As Himari stared at Levi, she saw an emotion in the male's eyes that she couldn't exactly describe. Yet again, there was something about his steel grey eyes that made Himari unable to pull her eyes away from him.

"T-That's not true.", Himari muttered under her breath as she looked away.

She didn't know why the man who stood in front of her could see right through her lies and secrets.

"Himari, the money.", Mikasa said quietly.

The short female glanced back at her friend.

Himari had told Mikasa about having lunch with Levi once she got back at the company, and the short female had told the raven haired girl to remind her about the money to pay for her share of the meal.

"Oh yeah.", Himari pulled out her purse from her bag and took out the cash that she was meant to pay Levi.

She held out the notes in front of the raven haired male, but Levi just shook his head.

"Keep it.", he said.

"But-", Himari was cut off by the detective.

"Treat me to lunch next time.", Levi said with amusement visible in his eyes.

"Next time.", Himari repeated quietly under her breath, "Then tomorrow?", she asked as she looked up at him.

Levi's eyes widened for a split second as someone coughed at the back of the room because of the female's blunt words.

Mikasa pulled Himari back by the arm lightly.

"That's not how you ask.", Mikasa whispered quietly to her friend.

Talking to males has never been a strong point for Himari.

"It's not?", Himari asked, confusion visible in her face.

"We'll be taking our leave now.", Mikasa spoke up as she pulled Himari along, not wanting the younger girl to embarrass herself even more.

"Miss. Matsuzaki.", the raven haired male called out.

Himari turned back to look at the detective.

"I'm free tomorrow lunch.", Levi said with a small smirk on his face.

Everyone saw the way Himari's eyes brightened up but the female was unaware of the reaction that she was giving.

"Okay.", she said with an almost happy smile.

Once the two females left the room, the rest of the detectives turned their attention to the raven haired male, to find a faint smile on his face.

"What was that? That was just so cute.", Hanji said after seeing the short female's reactions.

...

**Meanwhile in the middle of the road...**

A silver car pulled up onto the side of the road before a heavily-built man stepped out of the vehicle.

It was Kai Junichi, the CEO's bodyguard.

He walked around to the boot of the car, opening it up before he stared at the female who was tied up and unconscious inside.

Without a word, he picked the female up, swinging her over his shoulder before locking his car then making his way up to the construction site that was nearby.

Climbing up the staircase, the male set the female onto a chair and grabbed a nearby rope to tie her against it.

Once she was tied up, he grabbed another chair and sat opposite the woman.

The male patiently waited until the female regained consciousness.

The woman had duct tape over her mouth as she slowly began to wake up.

She struggled to move and looked down to find herself tied up to a chair before she looked at the man who sat opposite her.

"Miss. Maniwa Kiyomi.", the bodyguard spoke up, "You've become quite a problem.", he looked at her as the woman's eyes widened.

By his feet was a toolbox which he had carried with him from his car. He silently picked it up and looked through the tools before taking out a pair of pliers.

"I'll put this simply.", he set the toolbox down before pulling his chair closer to the woman.

The male picked up her right hand.

"I'll ask a question, then you'll answer.", Kai said, "If I'm not happy with your response then...", he paused, "Well I'll give you a demonstration.", he said.

With the pair of pliers, Kai took the woman's thumb and yanked out her fingernail with the tool.

Her screams were muffled by the tape as tears streamed down her face from the agonizing pain.

Blood dripped from the wound and the man wrapped tissue paper around her thumb.

The pair of pliers hovered next to her index finger now, holding the nail in place.

Frightened eyes stared back at the man as he looked at her with cold eyes.

"Where's the copy of the file that you made?", the bodyguard asked before removing the tape from her mouth.

"I-I didn't make a copy of that file. I promise I didn't make a copy.", she frantically said before the male covered tape over her mouth again.

The male yanked out the fingernail from her index finger before, once again, wrapping it around with tissue paper.

He sighed as he moved onto her middle finger.

"You're really not making this easy.", Kai said, "A copy of the project was made from your account, where is the copy now?", he asked again.

Miss. Maniwa shook her head as tears fell from her eyes.

The male removed the tape for the second time.

"I di-didn't make any copies, it wasn't me.", she cried, "Someone must've logged into my account.", the woman said.

Kai sighed again.

"And who could possibly have your login details?", he asked.

"I don't know.", she cried, "I didn't give it to anyone.", Miss. Maniwa said.

He was going to cover her mouth with tape again but stopped at the female's words.

"Wait! Ral got in! Ral got in!", Miss. Maniwa said frantically.

The bodyguard paused as he waited for the woman to continue.

"Last time Petra Ral managed to get into my account.", Miss. Maniwa said, "She knew how to get the file.", she said.

"Petra Ral is dead.", Kai said.

"T-Then someone must've told her how to hack in.", she said, "Petra wouldn't have known how to do it so she probably asked someone for help.", Miss. Maniwa said.

Kai leaned back on his chair.

"Who is this someone?", the male asked with narrowed eyes.


	13. Chapter 13

Miss. Maniwa was frantically trying to find a way to delay the CEO's bodyguard from killing her.

"T-Then someone must've told her how to hack in.", she said, "Petra wouldn't have known how to do it so she probably asked someone for help.", Miss. Maniwa said.

The woman didn't believe in the accusation that was being put onto her. She hadn't known that someone had gotten the files for that secret project nor did she know that it had been accessed from her account.

But even so, the woman knew that the situation she was in, it was probably because she was paying for her previous crimes.

Kai leaned back on his chair.

"Who is this someone?", the male asked with narrowed eyes.

But Miss. Maniwa had no idea who was setting her up.

"I d-don't know. I don't know.", Miss. Maniwa cried, tears streaming down her face.

The bodyguard sighed as he stood up, kicking his chair back aggressively, causing the female to flinch.

He wasn't in the mood for talking.

"You're really no use to me.", he said as he scratched his head.

Miss. Maniwa pushed away her fears as she glared at the male. She knew that she was going to die tonight so there was no point in staying obedient until the end.

"You really think it'll end here? Huh?", Miss. Maniwa asked.

Kai looked at the female with a bored expression.

"That man is getting rid of anyone who might expose him.", Miss. Maniwa said, "Just you watch, you'll end up in the same position as me.", she spat, "He'll get rid of you just like he's doing to me.", the woman said.

A sinister smile made its way onto the bodyguard's face.

"I'd like to see him try.", he said before he kicked the female's chair.

The place he had picked was a construction site so the building had not yet been finished. And having placed Miss. Maniwa's chair close to the open window, the woman was in for quite the fall.

From a height of around 25 metres, the chair that Miss. Maniwa was tied up against, dropped down from the great height.

Kai ignored her scream which ended as soon as a thud was followed by complete silence. Knowing full well about the condition of the dead woman, the man packed his tools away, carrying his toolbox in his hand as he headed downstairs.

Once he began walking away from the building, he glanced back to look at the woman, whose body was impaled by a metal pole. The male then continued on walking to his car like he hadn't seen anything.

He pulled out his phone once in the vehicle as he dialled the CEO's number.

_**"Sir, the job is done."**_ , Kai said.

**_"And no traces were left behind?"_** , the man asked.

_**"No sir."**_ , the bodyguard replied, ** _"Although there is a new problem now."_** , he said.

**_"And what is that?"_** , the CEO asked.

**_"There might be another mole at the company."_** , the bodyguard said.

The CEO paused.

**_"I see."_** , the man said, **_"I'll send out orders once it's time."_** , he said.

_**"Understood sir."**_ , the bodyguard said as the CEO hung up.

Kai put his phone away as he started the car engine.

...

**The next morning...**

Himari was actually looking forward to having lunch with Levi.

The female wasn't sure what it was, because whenever she was with the detective, she felt nervous but also at ease. The 22-year-old felt drawn to his eyes and there was just something about him that Himari was curious about.

Although the female's excitement for lunch soon disappeared after a certain event this morning.

Everyone was seated at their desks when Miss. Taniuchi Chigusa, the manager of their department, walked in.

At first, everyone thought that she was going to praise them for handing in all the reports before the deadline but they all realised that the woman seemed to be furious about something.

"What kind of careless mistakes have you all been making?", she slammed the files onto the table, "Not just one but seven reports have been filled in with the wrong numbers.", Miss. Chigusa said.

Himari frowned slightly at this as hushed whispers travelled around the room.

"We expect reports to the best of standards.", the manager continued, "How do you think this affects the other departments?", she asked.

The next second, Mr. Saiki Norinaga walked into the room.

Miss. Chigusa gave the man a small bow to which he returned before he brought his attention to the workers in the room.

"I've heard of the excellent work that this department is capable of, however, I didn't expect to see such atrocity as reports.", the man said.

Many of them frowned at this, not pleased with the man's words.

"Your reports are what aids us to do out lab work, yet if you fail to correct the simplest of mistakes, I don't understand how you expect the people in my department to follow instructions which doesn't make sense.", the man continued, "The dosage numbers have been incorrectly placed in the wrong section as well, which makes me wonder whether this department is a children's playground.", Mr. Norinaga said with a small scoff.

Himari could no longer take in the false accusations.

She could tell that the man was looking down at them because all the workers in her department were young workers. Everyone of Himari's colleagues were in their 20s and this just made the higher-ups think that they can accuse them because they were so young and made mistakes. 

But Himari didn't believe that they were at fault here.

"Sir, please mind your words, we take our work very seriously here.", Himari said.

The older man looked at the short female.

"The reports go through six people here before being sent off and if each lab reports has been cross-checked six times, the chances of having careless mistakes are very small.", Himari said, "The only way,  _that_ many mistakes had been found is if the reports had been changed at the final stage after we sent them off.", she said.

"So you're accusing someone of sabotaging the reports?", the man questioned, the crease in between his eyebrows being visible.

"I'm not accusing anyone of anything.", Himari snapped back at the male, "I would understand if it was one careless mistake but there's no way we'd make that many mistakes in one batch at the same time.", she defended her colleagues.

"An inexperienced worker like you could make this many mistakes.", the man said, taking Himari off guard.

Everyone knew that Himari was the youngest in her whole department but no one has ever used her age to criticise the way she works, because they all knew how hard-working Himari is.

"Isn't it more suspicious to find this many mistakes when after all this time, we've been doing our work so well?", Mikasa came to support her friend.

As if the raven haired girl would just stand there and let her friend get criticised like that.

"Youngsters these days just like to mess around, they don't take anything seriously.", Mr. Norinaga said.

"Don't base your personal opinion onto everyone here.", a male came in to support his two female colleagues.

"We work just as hard as any other worker.", another male stood up against the manager from the other department.

"Could that be said about everyone?", Mr. Norinaga directed his eyes to Himari, "It seems that some of you are more concerned about playing around with men.", he said with a disgusted look.

That comment had hit Himari's feelings as she diverted her eyes to her lap.

"Anyways, just get your acts sorted out.", the man said before leaving the room.

Chatters soon filled the room as some began cussing at the new manager.

"What's that prick saying?", one said.

"As if he owns this place just because he got hired.", another snapped.

Himari turned her chair towards her computer again.

She knew that harsh comment had been directed towards her and this only hurt the female as she forced down the tears.

The 22-year-old was no longer in the mood for lunch with Levi as she pulled out her phone.

_**"Sorry, I can't do lunch today, some deadlines came up."**_ , Himari texted him.

A minute later she got a reply.

**_"No worries. Is everything alright?"_** , the male asked.

The female swallowed the lump at the back of her throat, feeling herself about to burst to tears.

**_"Yeah, everything's fine. Let's have lunch another time."_** , she replied before putting her phone in her pocket.

Himari stood up and she sniffed lightly as she headed towards the door.

Mikasa followed after her friend.

...

Levi had just arrived at Maria Pharmaceutical Company when he received the text message from Himari. The raven haired male had been looking forward to lunch with the female but he wasn't going to force her if she was already busy.

Responding back that it was fine, Levi asked if everything is alright since he didn't want her to stress out with work as well as helping them out for the case.

But the female's last response, made Levi think otherwise.

'Is she really alright?', Levi wondered as he entered the building.

Levi, Furlan and Eren were here for questioning after hearing about the dead body that had been found at the construction site.

The raven haired male just knew that something was up when he later found out that the dead woman was called Maniwa Kiyomi.

**_"I don't think that Miss. Maniwa got fired, I think something happened to her._** ", Himari's words rang in his head after hearing the name of the victim.

So here Levi was, on suspicion that the woman's death was connected to the file that they had retrieved from her computer.

Down the corridor, Levi spotted Himari walking away.

It wasn't the fact that she didn't see him that concerned him but it was the fact that tears slid down the female's cheeks that worried the male.

Right behind the short female, Mikasa had run after her friend, leading the short female to the bathroom since they could be seen by anyone in the corridor.

"Levi, it's this way.", Furlan said.

The raven haired male pulled his eyes away from the two females who had disappeared out of his sight as he followed the taller male.

Now Levi knew for certain that the female's crying state and the text message had made him assume right. Something had definitely happened and Himari was hiding it from him.

The group of detectives were making their way to the person who was now replacing Miss. Maniwa's managing position, Mr. Saiki Norinaga.

Walking into the man's office after a knock, the man sitting behind the desk seems to have an amused smile on his face as he watched the detectives walk in.

"So if I insult the girl, the boyfriend comes in?", Mr. Norinaga said with a scoff.

Levi stared at the man, his steel eyes turning cold instantly.

"T'ch, so it was you.", Levi ran his hand through his hair before he turned to the male with a faint smirk.

The detective had the intention of finding out who had hurt the younger girl but it seems that the male sitting in front of him, had just made the detective's job easier.

"Yeager, go guard the door outside.", Levi said.

"Yes, sir.", Eren walked out of the office.

With Levi and Furlan standing in the manager's office, Mr. Norinaga's eyes flashed slight fear for a second before he frowned to cover up his fear.

"What? Are you going to threaten me or something?", the man sitting at the desk asked, "As if an officer would have the guts to do that.", he said although he was slightly intimidated by Levi's dark aura.

"T'ch.", Levi clicked his tongue yet again.

The raven haired male's movement was fast as lightning as he yanked Mr. Norinaga from his chair and slammed the older male's body onto the ground.

As Mr. Norinaga grunted in pain by the sudden force while holding onto his back, Levi crouched down to the man's eye level.

"If you ever hurt Himari again, I'll break every single limb in your body. Understood?", Levi's death glare made Mr. Norinaga tremble in fear as he quickly nodded, "Good.", the raven haired male stood up and looked at Furlan.

The taller male grabbed Mr. Norinaga by the shirt collar and sat him down on one of those guest chairs.

Levi leant against the desk as both of his palms rested on the wooden table.

"Now, tell me why you were hired here?", Levi said.

...

Himari had calmed down after the hurtful words that Mr. Norinaga had said.

Now that it was lunch, her friends noticed that the younger female was being extremely quiet. Mikasa didn't let them ask too many questions since Himari's mood was already low.

But everyone in Himari's department seemed to be quite depressed after hearing those insulting words from the new manager from the other department.

The atmosphere was quite tense when everyone got back to work after lunch and once several hours passed by, the end of the work day soon arrived.

...

**5.30PM**

Himari and Mikasa were joined by the other three females, Ymir, Krista and Sasha as they all headed to the car park.

"Handsome detective alert.", Sasha warned.

Himari glanced back at her friend before her eyes searched for the raven haired male. She soon found the male leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, the detective having clearly waited by the exit for a reason.

With not a single crease being seen on his suit, the raven haired male was definitely waiting for someone. 

Workers from the company walked past the detective, although the male paid no attention to the females who began blushing once seeing the male's attractive face.

"Looks like he's waiting for someone.", Krista said.

"Not just anyone.", Ymir said.

Himari glanced back at the taller girl to find Ymir smiling at her. The short female clicked her tongue as she looked away.

The only way to get out of the building and to the entrance of the car park was to walk past the detective and Himari did not want to do that.

Himari was getting pushed along by the shoulders by Sasha, all the girls obviously wanting to set the short female up with the detective.

When Levi spotted Himari, he stood up straight as the group approached him.

"Is Hanji not here?", Ymir tried to start a conversation with the male.

"She's busy.", Levi quickly turned down the conversation starter, the male's full attention being on Himari.

Ymir frowned for a second after hearing the male's blunt words but soon smiled lightly when she realised who it was that the detective really wanted to speak to.  

But the short female was unaware of the attention she was receiving from the male.

"Miss. Matsuzaki, if not lunch, how about dinner?", Levi asked.

"Huh?", Himari scratched the back of her head, looking at her friends for help, "Th-There's this thing that I'm doing.", she really was no good with lies.

"What thing?", Ymir asked with a small smile.

Himari sent a small glare towards her friend, who was ruining her plans to escape.

"W-Well that's-", the male interrupted the short female.

"Is dinner no good either?", Levi asked.

"Ah I-I", Himari was finding it really hard to say no to the raven haired male who would not allow her to look away from his eyes, "Dinner's fine.", she finally gave in.

Her friends really seemed pleased with the answer as they were already saying their goodbyes to the short female.

"Don't let what that guy said, get to you.", Ymir patted Himari's head.

The older girl had heard what happened and wanted to distract the younger girl from those rude words that had been said to her.

"I'll see you later.", Mikasa gave Himari a small smile as she headed with the other girls.

Levi and Himari soon walked to the detective's car.

...

**Some time later...**

Once arriving at a restaurant, Levi handed his car keys over to Furlan who was already waiting for the raven haired male.

While Levi and Himari walked into the restaurant, Furlan drove away with Levi's car since the raven haired male said that he'd walk back, considering the fact that the restaurant was only a 10-minute walk from their workplace.

They ordered the food and two ate their meals in silence, Himari's mood being lifted up by the warm meal.

Seeing Himari's bright smile again, every single worry in Levi's head seemed to disappear as he stared at the female with warm eyes.

Himari finally managed to pay for the meal that she owed the male as the two headed back to the male's workplace.

"There's another victim to this case.", Levi spoke up as they headed to one of those underground subways since it was a short-cut to the male's workplace.

"Another one?", Himari exclaimed since there were already so many victims to this case.

"Miss. Maniwa Kiyomi is the recent victim.", Levi had been debating whether to tell the female but he had soon made up his mind.

Himari looked up at the male.

"What? Really?", she asked.

Levi nodded.

It was only yesterday that she was telling the male that something wasn't right and the chances that she got fired was very low. But it looks like it was too late for the older woman.

"How did she die?", Himari asked.

"She was pushed down from a construction site.", Levi said, "Fell from a height of over 25 metres.", he said.

"Woah.", the female said.

"But it seems that the killer had been talking to her before killing her.", Levi said.

"How do you know?", Himari asked.

"She was missing fingernails from her thumb and index finger.", Levi explained, "Signs of torture to get answers out of her.", he said.

Himari was more than speechless after hearing this.

To think that they'd go this far just to hide a secret, but this secret must be quite big for someone to go to the extent of killing people.

But what secret was so worthwhile that they'd take people's lives?

The lights flickered above them and Himari glanced up at the lights before looking ahead where someone was walking in their direction.

Himari couldn't see the person since they had a hood over their head but knew that it was a male from their height and stature. The female tensed up when the tall male walked past, her body reacting like this for an unknown reason.

The 22-year-old slowed down in her steps when the clicking of the tall male's boots sounded oddly familiar. Her eyes widened as she realised why she was so familiar with the sound.

"Levi.", Himari grabbed the male's sleeve.

The raven haired male looked at the female beside him, seeing fear in her eyes and he wasn't sure why, until he spotted movement from the corner of his eye.

The tall male who had walked past them was now running towards them at full speed.

Levi pushed the female out of the way, just as he caught the taller male's punch, which would have hit Himari if the detective hadn't pushed her away in time.

The taller male managed to pull away from the detective's grip as he stood against the other side of the wall, opposite to where the detective and the short female were standing.

Levi kept his steel grey eyes on the male in front of him, muscles tense as he was ready for the male to make another move.

The lights flickered yet again and the three were left in darkness for more than a few seconds before they turned on again.

Levi's eyes widened as the tall male had grabbed Himari in the split second when it had been dark and was holding a knife against her throat.

The raven haired male's fighting stance lowered as he stared at the male who held the knife.

"L-Levi.", Himari's voice shook, her body being completely frozen as she was held in a death-like grip by the man who had the 6-inch knife so close to her throat that she could feel the blade grazing against her skin.

"Not another step.", the tall male threatened the detective.


	14. Chapter 14

"L-Levi.", Himari's voice shook as she stared at the detective helplessly while some man held a knife against her throat.

"Not another step.", the deep voice of the culprit echoed in the empty subway, threatening to slice the female's throat if the detective were to make a move.

Levi's eyes moved from the short female to the culprit, as his steel grey eyes changed from shock to pure anger.

"If you so much as leave a scratch on her, I'll kill you.", the raven haired male's cold tone as well as his deathly glare, made the culprit shift in his steps.

Himari stared at Levi, the female already being shaken up with the blade against her throat, but it was the first time that she had seen such a dark aura being emitted from the detective.

The lights above the three individuals flickered yet again.

Within that split second of darkness, Himari's eyes widened as the blade was moving away from her neck.

She looked up to find Levi standing right in front of her, his steel grey eyes on the culprit as the blade was in the palm of his left hand, moving the knife away from her neck.

Himari looked at Levi with wide eyes, seeing the blood dripping from his hand but the male showed no pain in his eyes but held rage.

Levi's other hand was yanking the culprit's hand off Himari's coat as she had been in his grip.

Finally removing both the culprit's hand and the knife from Himari, the female was pushed away from the culprit.

She stumbled back and fell on the floor, looking up as Levi threw the knife away before he punched the culprit.

The culprit grunted in pain as he received punch after punch.

"Levi.", Himari said, seeing that Levi wasn't stopping with the hits.

Right now, Levi was holding the culprit up by his jumper, repeatedly punching him across the face as blood began to splutter from the male's mouth, but the detective kept on going.

Himari quickly got to her feet.

"Levi, stop it!", she grabbed the detective's arm with both of her hands but the male was just too strong for her, "Please stop it!", Himari was pushing the male against the other side of the wall, "You're going to kill him!", she tightly wrapped her arms around his torso, preventing him from attacking the male who had slumped onto the floor while coughing.

As Himari held the male back, Levi's out of rhythm breathing had yet to calm down as he stared at the culprit who sat by the other side of the wall, coughing out blood from the punches that he had received.

"Please calm down.", Himari said softly as she hugged the raven haired male tightly.

"Hey Levi!", several footsteps were heard running over and Himari glanced back to see the culprit stumbling to his feet as he ran off.

The short female stepped back from Levi, looking at the male's bleeding hand.

Himari looked around for her bag, which had dropped on the floor while she was being grabbed by the culprit.

She hurriedly searched for a handkerchief in her bag, grabbing the fabric and running back to where Levi hadn't moved.

The female wrapped the handkerchief around the male's bleeding hand, but the blood continued to drip from the wound.

Himari felt Levi grab her hand with his injured one and she looked up at him.

The raven haired male had finally snapped out of his rage and Himari was able to see his usual stoic steel grey eyes which intrigues her.

"Levi that man...", Furlan said while trying to catch his breath as he reached the two, "He came by the office and he looked suspicious.", he said, "But when he saw us, he ran off so we chased after him.", Furlan said.

"Sir, you're bleeding!", Eren exclaimed, the male being the first to notice the raven haired male's injury.

"T'ch.", Levi clicked his tongue.

"Levi, let's go to the hospital!", Furlan said urgently.

"There's no need.", Levi brushed them off.

Levi looked at Himari and the short female looked at their hands, the male not having released her hand yet. The raven haired male reluctantly let go after noticing her gaze.

Himari went to get her bag as the four began heading to Levi's workplace now, the short female giving one last glance back at where the culprit had run off.

Once arriving at the detectives' workplace, Levi was ushered upstairs by a very worried Furlan, who was being quite overdramatic and saying that the raven haired male probably needed stitches or needed to get his hand amputated.

Himari only smiled lightly as she could hear the two bickering upstairs. The female placed her bag down on one of the chairs before looking at her hands when she felt a light sting.

The blood on her right hand did not belong to her, it was Levi's as he had held onto her hand with his wounded hand.

Her left hand was still wrapped in a bandage from the incident that took place a few days ago.

"Do you want to wash your hands?", a female voice spoke up.

Himari looked up and found Isabel standing in front of her.

"We have a sink downstairs as well.", she said.

The short female followed the older girl to their break room where there was a sink.

As she was left alone in the room, Himari removed the bandages from her left hand and her right hand since it had gotten dirty when she fell on the floor. Throwing it away in the bin, Himari turned on the tap and let the cold water wash away the dirt and blood.

She watched it go down the drain, too preoccupied in her own thoughts to even notice someone enter the room.

"Are your hands alright?", Himari felt a warm breath on her hair and the female turned around to find Levi standing behind her.

But it was the small gap in distance that made the female stiffen as she quickly turned her head away before he saw her cheeks change into a light shade of pink.

"Y-Yeah, they're fine.", Himari said as she finished washing her hands clean.

The warmth that had radiated on her back was gone as Levi had stepped away from her to get a napkin for the female to dry her hands.

He handed it to her and Himari dried her hands, making sure not to get the wounds which hadn't fully healed.

"He didn't hurt you right?", Levi asked.

The female did not have time to prepare herself as he lifted her chin up, forcing her to look up at his steel grey eyes while he analysed her neck where the knife had been just a couple of minutes ago.

Seeing the faint red line where the blade had touched her, Himari saw the flash of anger that was evident in the detective's eyes.

"That bastard.", Levi muttered under his breath.

Himari pulled the male's hand away from her chin so that she no longer had to look up anymore. The female then placed her right hand under Levi's left hand, carefully lifting up his bandaged hand.

"Maybe we should really go to the hospital.", Himari said as blood was already seeping through the, once, clean bandage.

Levi looked at Himari's hand before looking at the female's face.

Her gaze was on his hand and there was worry in her eyes since the bleeding hadn't stopped.

The detective stared at the female with slight amusement in his eyes, before he remembered something, his facial expression turning stoic once again.

"That man, Mr. Saiki Norinaga, what did he say to you today?", Levi asked.

The detective hadn't really heard the whole story, all he knew was that older man had insulted the short female.

Himari looked up at Levi, wondering how he knew about what had happened today.

"How did you-", the male cut her off.

"He said something.", Levi said, "Tell me what he said.", Levi said again.

Himari looked away.

"I-It really wasn't anything.", she said.

"Himari.", Levi said.

The female looked up at him.

It was only on rare occasions did the detective address her by her first name.

Himari looked at her feet.

"Well he said that I'm an inexperienced worker and stuff like that.", Himari paused, "Then...", she hesitated to say the words that had hurt her the most, "Then he said that I'm just concerned about playing around with men.", Himari said quietly.

She didn't see Levi's eyes turn cold at this.

The female had released Levi's hand by now as she scratched the back of her head while forcing a smile on her face.

"Ah but it really wasn't a big deal.", Himari said.

"Don't use a fake smile with me.", Levi said as he had placed his right hand against the female's cheek while gently caressing her skin with his thumb.

The female's smile disappeared.

Himari looked up to meet Levi's steel grey eyes on her.

"I wasn-", the male interrupted her yet again.

"I've watched your eyes long enough to know whether a smile is real or not.", Levi said.

Himari was at a loss for words as she stared at him.

Just a little while ago, the male had such cold eyes that his aura was quite terrifying, but here the detective was, looking at her with warm eyes.

It was the way that he looked at her that made her feel nervous.

"Himari.", a female's voice snapped Himari out of her thoughts as the short female stepped away from Levi.

"Mikasa?", Himari saw her friend and the short female walked out of the break room to see her best friend, "What are you doing here?", she asked.

"I heard something happened. Are you hurt anywhere?", Mikasa asked with worry, checking the younger girl's face and hands for any injuries.

"Mikasa, I'm fine.", Himari said with a small smile on her face.

"Really? You're not hurt?", Mikasa was still worried.

"Don't worry.", Himari smiled up brightly at her friend, "Seriously, I'm fine.", she knew how overprotective Mikasa was with her.

If anyone ever tries to hurt Himari, then Mikasa would always be ready to beat them up. That's how it's always been, and the older female was always there to protect her best friend.

"Who was it?", Mikasa asked.

"That's what we'd like to know as well.", Isabel said.

By now, Levi had long stepped out of the break room, the raven haired male was leaning against the wall with only his right hand in his pocket since his left hand was injured.

"What happened while I was away?", Levi asked.

"Well we were just continuing with our normal work.", Eren said, "I think it was around 6.30, when we saw someone standing in front of the door.", he said.

"He had a hood over his head so we couldn't see his face but he was just standing at the entrance, staring inside for a full minute maybe.", Furlan continued, "We didn't actually notice him until a little while later.", he said.

Both Himari and Mikasa also listened to this.

"Then I asked who he was, the guy didn't reply." Furlan said, "I asked if he was here to see someone, still nothing.", he said, "And just as I was walking towards him, he ran off.", Furlan said, "He seemed suspicious so Eren and I ran after him, just as he was heading towards the subway.", he said.

"That's when we saw you two.", Eren finished off.

Levi was seen thinking about something for a second before he turned his attention to Himari.

"You recognised him, didn't you?", Levi asked.

"I wasn't sure at first.", Himari began, "But it was the sound of his boots that triggered a memory.", she said.

"A memory?", Isabel repeated.

"When I found Petra.", Himari said, "Well I think that man was there.", she said.

"What?!", Eren exclaimed.

"Look, my memory was a bit jumbled up from that night so I don't even know if this is right.", Himari scratched her head, a small frown on her face as she tried to think back to that night, "But I think this was before I called the ambulance.", she said, "Since my phone didn't work, I found Petra's lying just a few metres away from her so I went to pick it up.", Himari paused.

There was some details which had escaped her mind since that was a shocking event, so Himari was unable to get a clear picture in her head.

"And I think when I looked ahead, I caught a glimpse of the man's shoes. I'm not even sure if it was boots since it was so dark in that alleyway, that movement could've been a rat for all I know.", Himari said, "But the clicking of the boots, it was a similar sound to when the man walked in the subway this evening.", she said.

Himari only frowned at this.

"But I don't understand what the man was doing here.", Himari said, "If he was involved in Petra's death, then why did he drop by here?", she asked, "And why did he attack us in the subway?", Himari asked.

The detectives thought about this.

It was very strange indeed.

"It seems we have another man in the picture.", Levi said.

"How many people do you have so far then?", Himari asked.

Levi looked at the female before he signalled Furlan to turn the whiteboard over.

They gathered around the whiteboard, where it held pictures of the suspects so far, including what kind of connection they have with each other.

On the board, there was a picture of the CEO's secretary, Mr. Chiura Shunso. Next was Maniwa Kiyomi, one of the recent victims. There was the CEO's bodyguard, Kai Junichi, but that photo had a question mark next to it.

"Why do you have a question mark on this guy?", Himari pointed to the bodyguard before she looked at Levi who was standing beside her.

"We're not exactly sure about the exact suspicions for him.", Levi replied as he looked at the female before turning his attention to the whiteboard again, "Although he seemed to have been at the scene of Imara Naomi's death.", he said.

Naomi was the girl who had fallen out of the company building, rumours had been going around that it was a suicide but Himari did _not_  believe it.

"Really?", Himari was surprised at this.

"I did see him in the corridor that day, heading in the same direction where Miss. Imara was, but I can't be certain so it's just a hunch at the moment.", Levi said.

"Well that guy gives me the creeps anyways.", Himari turned her eyes to the board.

Levi glanced at the female after hearing the comment.

"You even have the CEO?", Himari asked.

The CEO of the company, Tsuji Kiyohisa, was up there at the top of the board.

"Well there's no way that something would happen without the boss knowing.", Isabel said, "So the big mastermind to all this, has to be this guy here.", she said.

"And now a fifth person for this list.", Furlan said as Eren just added a post-it note with 'Subway Attacker' on it since they had no idea how the male looked like.

...

**The next morning...**

Himari had woken up earlier than usual so that she could drop by Levi's workplace before work started.

So as Mikasa drove her friend there, Himari waited until they arrived.

The short female was just worried about the raven haired male since his injury looked quite serious yesterday. And seeing that the male didn't go to the hospital, Himari just wanted to make sure that he's alright.

When the car stopped, both females got out, the raven haired girl stopping her friend for a minute.

"Himari, your phone.", Mikasa held out her hand.

"Huh? Why?", Himari asked as she pulled out her phone from her coat pocket.

"You're going to get distracted so I'm going to set a 10-minute timer on your phone.", Mikasa said as Himari unlocked her phone and handed it to her friend.

"I won't get distracted.", Himari said.

"Of course you won't.", Mikasa said with a small smile as she set the timer before handing the phone back to the short female, "We'll be late for work if you take too long.", she said.

"Ah don't worry.", Himari said as she took her phone back and headed up the stairs.

Mikasa had a smile on her face, knowing full well how Himari was, the older girl was sure that Himari was going to get distracted. The raven haired girl leant against her car, while on her phone to keep herself busy in the 10 minutes.

...

Himari walked up the stairs and found the door wide open, with the detectives having already arrived at work.

The short female walked in and looked around for a certain raven haired male.

Furlan noticed the short female in the room.

"Levi's in his office.", Furlan said.

Himari glanced at the male who had spoken up, giving him a small smile as she headed up the stairs.

Furlan had a smile on his face as he carried on reading the papers in his hand.

When the short female reached the door to his office, she knocked on the door lightly.

Hearing footsteps approaching, the door was opened by the raven haired male himself.

Himari broke into a bright smile when she saw Levi.

"Good morning.", she said.

Levi smirked slightly when he saw the female.

"Morning.", the male released the door handle, stepping aside to allow the female to come in.

With Levi having spent the entire night at his workplace, the male had finished taking a shower and had just gotten dressed when Himari had knocked on the door.

The male was just wearing black trousers with his white shirt tucked in, though Levi hadn't put on his tie yet.

"What brings you here?", Levi asked as he began to fix his sleeves.

"Ah, well I wanted to see if you're feeling better.", Himari scratched the back of her head with a sheepish smile, "You got hurt because of me.", she said.

There was a small smile on Levi's face, which only lasted a second before his face turned back to his usual stoic expression when Himari looked up at him.

"Oh yeah, did the bleeding on your hand stop?", Himari asked.

"It stopped yesterday night, I think.", Levi said.

"Does it hurt?", she asked.

"No.", Levi looked at her, "It's alright now.", he said.

Himari watched him turn up his collar, so that he'd be able to put on his tie.

Wondering whether the male would be able to tie it with his injured hand, Himari spoke up.

"Can I do it for you?", Himari asked.

Levi looked at her, as he was just about to start tying it but released his hands from the cloth as Himari stepped up in front him.

The female took the tie in her hands, placing the wider end over the small end while Levi stared at Himari who stood so close to him.

"How did you learn to do it for others?", Levi asked, as he snapped his eyes away from her hands and instead to her eyes.

Himari did not remove her eyes from the job that she was doing as she replied.

"Ymir likes wearing suits, but since she doesn't know how to tie these, she usually asks one of us.", Himari replied.

Himari tightened the knot by pulling on the side end, before beginning to slide the knot up to the shirt collar. It was then that the female met the male's eyes, not having noticed at all that he had been staring at her the whole time.

She diverted her eyes to his tie once again and folded down his shirt collar before straightening the tie.

The short female still felt the male's gaze on her as she looked up to check whether the tie was straight.

This time though, Himari was unable to pull her eyes away from his as the two just stared at each other.

Himari's hands had not yet left the detective's tie, as she stood where she was, staring up at Levi while standing with just a few centimetres of a gap between their chests.

The female could feel her heart furiously drumming in her ribcage 

It came as a surprise to the both of them when Himari's timer had been set off, finally snapping the girl out of her thoughts as she quickly released the male's tie while stepping away from him.

_Looks like Mikasa had been right._

Himari grabbed her phone from her pocket, switching off the timer.

"I-I should probably get going before I'm late.", Himari said, her eyes trying to find anywhere to look at, except the male's face before she quickly left his office.

Once the door shut, Levi had a faint smile on his face as he looked down at his tie with warm eyes.

As Himari headed down the staircase, she scratched the back of her head. She could still feel her heart thundering in her chest, having felt it rapidly beating when she stared at Levi.

"That was 11 minutes.", Mikasa said with a small smile as Himari walked over.

The short female clicked her tongue as she looked away.

"It was only an extra minute.", Himari mumbled under her breath as she got into the car with Mikasa.

"A full minute flirting then?", Mikasa asked.

Himari's eyed widened as she turned bright red at this.

"N-No!", the short female had been surprised by her friend's words, "It wasn't like that.", Himari said quickly as she forced her eyes to stare out of the window, since she could feel her cheeks blazing on fire because of the comment.

Mikasa had a knowing smile on her face as she drove to their company.

...

**During lunch at the canteen...**

Himari was eating with her friends, having completely forgotten about what had happened this morning, until one of her friends brought up the detective's name.

"There's something different about him.", Ymir began.

"Hmm?", Himari looked up from her food as she saw the raven haired male having just entered the canteen with Furlan to speak to someone about Miss. Maniwa's murder case obviously.

"Don't you think so?", Ymir asked.

"Now that you mention it, he does seem different.", Sasha said.

Himari looked from Levi then to her friends, wondering what on earth they were talking about, since he looked the same to her.

"Is it the hair?", Ymir asked.

"Nah.", Sasha said.

Both females thought about what was so different about Levi.

"His clothes?", both Ymir and Sasha said.

"But he wears a suit everyday.", Ymir said.

"Today's a navy blue suit so it's not the colour.", Sasha said.

"His tie?", Krista spoke up.

Himari paused with the chopsticks in her mouth as her eyes widened for a split second. Her chestnut coloured eyes went to the male's tie, wondering what her friends could see which she couldn't.

'I tied it properly, didn't I?', Himari thought, looking at his tie to see if it was crooked or something.

"That's it!", Ymir exclaimed.

"It is?", Sasha asked.

"Of course, just look at it.", Ymir grabbed Sasha by the shoulders and forced the brunette to pay extra attention to the tie that the male was wearing, "Someone did it for him.", she said.

Himari almost choked on her food but she managed to control her coughs, before the others noticed, though she didn't realise that Mikasa had seen her twitch.

Mikasa smiled at this as she knew what was up.

"Eh? How can you tell?", Sasha scratched her head in confusion.

"Because there's a slight difference to when you tie it yourself, compared to when someone else does it for you.", Ymir replied, the female seeming to know a lot about ties although she doesn't know how to tie one herself.

Himari didn't even know that such a thing existed.

Was Ymir just making it up?

But if so, how did the female know that Levi's tie was done by someone else?

Ymir frowned.

"I would think his girlfriend did it, but Hanji said that he's not in a relationship at the moment, so who could it be?", Ymir thought out loud.

Himari quickly diverted her eyes to her tray of food, trying to focus on eating, rather than listening to her friends' conversation.

All the girls at their table looked at Himari before they all broke into smiles after the younger girl's behaviour, confirmed their guesses.

Ymir had a grin on her face as she scooted closer to the shorter female.

"Himari.", Ymir began, "Is there something that you'd like to tell us?", she asked with a large grin.

"No.", Himari mumbled, feeling all their eyes on her.

She looked at Mikasa for help but the raven haired girl had a small smirk on her face.

"So that's what you were doing this morning?", Mikasa said.

Himari's cheeks flushed bright red at the comment as the three girls squealed.

The loud noise seemed to have caught Levi's attention as he looked around the canteen, his eyes falling on the table that Himari was sitting on.

Krista was the first to notice the detective's eyes on their table and she elbowed Himari as all her friends also followed the younger girl's gaze.

When Levi had Himari's full attention, he had the faintest of smiles on his face, amusement visible in his eyes as he left the canteen with his hands in his pockets.

Himari's face only reddened at the male's smile as her friends made quite the excited reaction after seeing that the detective's smile was directed towards the younger girl.

...

Throughout the end of the day, Himari's friends kept asking the short female what was going on between her and the detective. This only left Himari in an awkward situation since there _really_ was nothing going on.

Himari had her elbow rested on her desk with her chin resting on her palm.

The female was thinking back to all the odd things that she had heard Levi say.

**_"I only do a background check on those that I'm interested in.", Levi said._ **

_**"Miss. Matsuzaki, I'm sure we will meet again.", the male said with a smirk.** _

_**"Even when this case comes to an end, we'll still encounter each other more often than before.", Levi said with amusement in his eyes.** _

_**"Because it's fate.", he said.** _

**_"You need me?", he questioned with a raised eyebrow, while hiding his smirk well._ **

**_"Keep your eyes on your surroundings.", the male walked past, lightly caressing Himari's cheek in the process._ **

**_"You filthy bastard, don't you dare touch her.", Levi's cold tone held severe threat, the time when a security guard tried to touch Himari._ **

**_"So please trust me in this as well.", Levi said._ **

**_"You're scared, aren't you?", the male said, "So you can hold my hand.", Levi said with a straight face, this being back when they broke into the company._ **

**_"Then I'll look forward to seeing you again.", Levi said._ **

**_"For you, I'd do anything.", the detective said._ **

**_"If you so much as leave a scratch on her, I'll kill you.", Levi said with a cold tone and a deathly glare._ **

_**"I've watched your eyes long enough to know whether a smile is real or not.", he said.** _

As Himari thought back to the most memorable words that she had heard Levi say, the short female couldn't help but wonder that the way the detective speaks to her, it's as if he has known her for a long time now.

And the 22-year-old wasn't thinking back to when Ymir had set them up on a date at the café, Himari wondered if Levi knew her way before that, because he speaks to her like he did.

Then there was the way he gets angry when someone tries to hurt Himari.

The female had only witnessed the dark aura in that subway last night, but she was sure that Levi would've probably ended up killing the man who had held the knife to her throat.

So Himari wanted to know why?

The female was beyond confused at these thoughts that she was having, as she slumped her head on her desk with a sigh.

...

**Once work was over...**

Himari had gone home with Mikasa to finish with the translation, and once that was done, the two females were heading to the detectives' workplace.

**6PM**

The short female and the raven haired girl had just arrived, Himari handing the rest of the papers to Furlan.

As Mikasa had gone to speak to Eren, Himari awkwardly stood around, eyes searching for a certain raven haired male.

Seeing that he was not here, the female approached Isabel, the older girl looking up from the papers in front of her.

"Is Levi not here?", Himari asked.

"Yeah, he's just upstairs.", Isabel replied.

Himari hesitated to go upstairs, thinking that the male might be busy with work and she didn't want to disturb him.

"It's alright if you go up.", Isabel said after seeing the short female's hesitation, "Bro wouldn't mind.", she said.

"Is it really okay?", Himari asked.

"Yeah, of course it's fine.", the older female said, "If it's you, he wouldn't mind.", she said.

Although Himari had not heard the last sentence as she headed up the stairs, missing Isabel's smile.

Yet again, Himari stood outside of Levi's office, knocking lightly on the door. 

"Come in.", this time however Levi did not stand up from his chair to open the door since he was busy reading the papers that Himari had previously handed him.

The short female opened the door, walking in as Levi looked up from what he was reading.

The male sat up straight in his chair as his eyes landed on the female.

"What are you doing here?", Levi asked, surprised to see her here at this time in the evening.

"Err..well I finished with the translation and brought it over.", Himari said, "Your colleagues have it downstairs now.", she quickly added.

"I'll have a look at it once I'm done with this.", Levi said, "Would you like something to drink?", he asked.

The male would usually never offer anything for anyone, yet for Himari, he gets concerned about her really easily.

"Ah, no it's fine.", Himari said with a small smile, "Mikasa and I are going to head back soon anyways.", she said.

"I see.", Levi said quietly.

Himari was still thinking about the reasoning for the male's behaviour, the thought having been on her mind since this afternoon.

"Is it alright if I ask you something?", Himari asked.

Levi looked at her, giving her a small nod to continue.

"Umm...well this might sound weird, but have we met before?", Himari asked.

The female quickly looked away from the male who was sitting behind the desk.

"I'm just wondering if, maybe, our first meeting wasn't when Ymir introduced us at the café but if we had met a long time ago.", Himari said.

Levi stared at the female.

"Rather than being curious about that.", Himari continued, "The things you say and do...and how you're always there when I'm in danger.", she paused as she tried to find the right words to explain her thoughts, "Why did you do that?", Himari asked as she fidgeted with the ends of her coat sleeves.

She didn't hear Levi standing up from his chair.

Himari's curiosity was more focused on the fact that Levi had repeatedly punched the man in the subway. And even when it was quite clear that the detective had won the fight, the male hadn't stopped punching the culprit. 

She wanted to know why.

"Literally, one punch would've been enough, but why did you go to that extent?", Himari asked.

"Isn't it obvious?", Levi asked.

Himari looked up when she heard Levi's voice so close to her and found the male standing in front of her.

She tilted her head in confusion at his question.

The female didn't know that the answer to her question was supposed to be obvious.

'Was there a detail that I missed out?', Himari thought, unaware of the reasoning behind every single one of Levi's behaviour.

"It's because I'm in love with you.", Levi said quite bluntly.


	15. Chapter 15

**Levi's past:**

_ **17 years ago...** _ **[Levi aged 10, Himari aged 5]**

_At a children's park, lots of giggling and laughters were heard as the small kids played around._

_A little girl whose golden brown hair reached her shoulders, had her hair tied up into two pigtails and she was playing on the swings by herself._

_The girl's attention was caught by two boys who pushed a smaller boy to the floor._

_With a small frown, the female stood up from the swing that she was sitting on and approached the two bullies._

_Since the two males were taller than her, the little girl looked around for something before she brightened up when she found what she was looking for._

_The female picked up several pebbles in her hands and began throwing it at the two bullies._

_"Leave him alone!", she shouted._

_When the two boys soon ran off, the little girl ran over to the boy who had been pushed._

_"Are you okay?", she asked._

_The boy had short raven hair and the male clicked his tongue as he stood up, dusting the dirt from his trousers._

_"T'ch, I didn't ask for your help.", the boy snapped at the female._

_Only now that he was standing up, did the female see that the boy was much taller than her, although he was quite short compared to the two bullies._

_Her eyes brightened up, not the least bit affected by his words._

_"Woah, you're really tall.", the female said._

_"Hmph.", there was a proud look on his face, probably because he doesn't get called 'tall' at all since he's short for his age._

_"Do you want to play together?", the girl asked him with a bright smile._

_The male with the raven hair stared at her._

_"You don't want to?", she tilted her head._

_The boy didn't look like he was going to reply so the female grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the playstructure._

_"I'll make an exception and push you on the swings, okay?", she said excitedly, pulling him along._

**...**

_The small boy had arrived to the park once again as he looked around for the girl that he had played with, just a few days ago._

_Not being able to find her, the male sat on the swing with a bored expression._

_The male wasn't one to make friends and the female that he had played with the other day, was the first person to ask him to play together. So even if the male won't admit it, he had taken a liking to the short female._

_His eyes searched the park as he swung lightly on the swing, before he found the familiar golden brown hair._

_He got off the swing and walked over to the bench where the little girl was sitting on a woman's lap._

_Once reaching the bench, the boy stopped in front of it._

_The woman noticed the small boy, giving him a smile before she looked down at the girl who was snuggled up against her._

_"Himari look, your friend is here to play with you.", the woman said softly._

_The little girl looked back to see who had come over and saw the boy that she had played with the day before._

_The boy saw the female's tear-stained face and the little girl snuggled against her mother once again._

_"What happened to her?", the male seemed to show concern for his first friend._

_"She fell over at school today.", the mother explained as she lightly stroked the plaster that was by her daughter's knee._

_The male looked at her knee before looking at the girl who had been crying._

_He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small toffee that was in a wrapper. The boy then held it out for the girl, who looked at his outstretched hand._

_"Eat this and you'll stop crying.", the male said._

_The female took the sweet from his hand, unwrapping it and putting the toffee into her mouth._

_She broke into a smile once tasting the sweet flavour in her mouth as she got off her mother's lap, now feeling much better._

_The mother smiled at this as she stood up._

_"What's your name?", the woman crouched down in front of the raven haired boy._

_"Levi.", the male said._

_"Well then, thank you Levi.", she patted the male's head before looking at her daughter, "I'll come and pick you up later, alright?", she said._

_The little girl nodded._

_As the mother walked off from the park, the raven haired boy turned to the female._

_"Shall I push you on the swings today?", he asked._

_She smiled up brightly at him._

_"Okay.", the girl replied._

_The two walked over to the swings and seeing the short girl limping because of her wound, Levi scratched the back of his head awkwardly before holding out his hand._

_"I'll let you hold my hand.", he said._

_Himari stared at his hand before looking at him with a smile as she placed her hand over his._

_"It's just for today though.", Levi said as he looked away._

**...**

_"Levi, how old are you?", the little girl was playing in the sand pit with the raven haired male._

_"Ten.", he said._

_"Woah.", the female said, not having realised that the male was much older than her._

_"What about you?", Levi asked._

_"Ah, I'm five.", Himari said with a bright smile._

_Levi clicked his tongue and looked away once seeing her bright smile._

_"Ouch.", the female said._

_The male quickly looked at the younger girl who held onto her index finger, having gotten a small prick from one of the toys that she had been playing with._

_Levi had dropped what he was holding, rushing over to the female._

_"You dummy.", Levi said, "Can't you be more careful?", he snapped as he pulled out a plaster from his pocket, neatly placing it over the wound._

_The male being very organised for his age._

_"I'm not a dummy.", Himari said with a small frown, "You know, I can read better than the girls in my class.", she said._

_Levi pulled her up by her hand, getting the girl to her feet._

_"Let's play somewhere else.", he said, not wanting the female to get hurt again._

**...**

_"Levi! Levi!", a little girl shouted excitedly from across the road._

_Himari was walking with her mother, coming back from grocery shopping when the 5-year-old spotted her friend on the other side of the road, walking with his mother._

_Levi looked around when he heard his name being called, when he spotted the female from across the road._

_He smiled lightly as he waved back at the girl._

_"Levi, we're having ramen for dinner.", Himari shouted out from across the road._

_Both mothers chuckled at the female's words._

_"What are you having?", Himari asked with a bright smile._

**...**

_"I'll come and play tomorrow.", Levi said, the male having come over to her house to play with Himari._

_The two had become quite the good friends now._

_"Really? You'll come to see me tomorrow?", Himari asked with a bright smile._

_The two didn't see each other often but they really enjoyed the time when they were together._

_Levi nodded._

_"Then I'll remember you.", she tilted her head, "Your name...L-Le...umm.", since Himari was quite young, her memory wasn't that great._

_"Dummy, you don't even remember my name.", Levi said, "It's Levi.", he said, "Levi Ackerman.", the male said._

_"Ah then, Levi we'll play tomorrow too.", Himari looked up at him with a bright smile._

**...**

_**Then 15 years later...** _  **[Levi aged 25, Himari aged 20]**

_Neither Levi nor Himari had seen each other during those 15 years, the female having obviously forgotten about her childhood friend, though the raven haired male still had Himari at the back of his mind._

_Levi was just walking out of a café with his cup of coffee while Furlan followed behind with his drink._

_The raven haired male glanced back when Furlan had been talking about a case that they were handling._

_From one of the tables, a female whose golden brown hair was tied up in a ponytail, had stood up with her backpack, heading out of the café as well._

_"We're going to be late at this rate.", an older girl was seen telling the girl with the golden brown hair._

_The shorter female looked back at her friend with a smile._

_"We'll make it if we run.", she said._

_With neither the raven haired male looking where he was walking, nor did the female with the golden brown hair, both individuals collided with each other._

_Levi's coffee went spilling onto his shirt as the male's stoic face soon turned one into anger as he snapped at the person who spilled his drink._

_"Oi brat, look where you're-", Levi froze midway as the female who had collided into him, looked up._

_"Ah, I'm so sorry sir.", the female frantically apologised._

_She looked around for napkins and grabbed some from the nearby table and handed it to the male, whose white shirt was now stained with coffee._

_"Himari, come on.", the older girl said, pausing when she saw what the younger girl had done, "Oh my.", she said quietly._

_But Levi just stared at the female in front of him, the female who he had not seen for 15 years._

_"Sir, here's the money for the drink.", the older girl quickly pulled out some cash from her purse, placing the money on the table next to Levi, "Himari, let's go.", she grabbed Himari's arm and pulled the girl out of the café._

_"But what about-", Himari was interrupted._

_"We're going to get scolded if we're late.", the older girl said._

_The short female glanced back at the male who she had spilled a drink over._

_Levi was slightly dazed as he stood where he was._

_"Oh my god, Levi!", Furlan exclaimed, finally snapping the raven haired male from his thoughts, "I'll get you a new drink.", he took the money that had been placed on the table to buy Levi another cup of coffee._

_Having finally snapped out of his thoughts, Levi ran out of the café, frantically looking around for the short female that he had just seen but he found her nowhere in sight._

_Levi scratched his head, wondering whether this had all been a dream as he looked down at his stained shirt then at his hand which held the napkins that were handed to him._

**...**

_ **Several days after their first encounter in 15 years...** _

_Levi was driving his car, with Furlan sitting on the seat beside him._

_The raven haired male was listening to the taller male as he stopped at a red traffic light, and noticing commotion up ahead by the crossing, both males paused._

_Levi had caught a glimpse of familiar golden brown hair and without warning, he got out of his car._

_And that's when he saw her again._

_Himari was standing on the crossing, the short female seeming to be in an argument with an older male._

_Levi frowned as he walked closer to hear the conversation better, leaving an unattended vehicle behind as Furlan was calling the raven haired male back, but Levi was too distracted._

_"Oi bastard, why don't you keep your hands to yourself?", Himari snapped at the taller male._

_"I don't know what you're talking about.", the man said._

_The older male was punched across the face and Levi stared at the female who had hit the male._

_The female was a raven haired girl, being taller than Himari._

_The short female looked up at her friend, smiling up brightly at the older girl._

_"Fucking bastard.", the raven haired girl muttered._

_"Mikasa, let's go.", Himari pulled the raven haired girl by her hand, both females heading back to uni._

_Levi watched Himari with a faint smile on his face, remembering how her bright smiles hadn't changed at all in the last 15 years._

**...**

_"Levi, would you just attend the court hearing?", Erwin asked with a sigh._

_"Why the fuck do I need to attend that for?", Levi snapped at his friend._

_The blond male was a prosecutor, with Levi being a detective._

_"It's your case.", Erwin said, "I'm sure the victim's family would appreciate it.", he said._

_Levi sighed._

_"T'ch whatever.", Levi muttered as he gave in._

_ **Attending the trial at the courtroom...** _

_Levi took a seat at the end of a row so that it'd be easier to leave, with Furlan sitting beside him._

_As the trial began, Levi didn't seem to take any interest before he spotted a female on one of the front rows._

_Leaning to the side to get a closer look, Levi only now realised that it was Himari._

_His mood seemed to have been lifted up as he stared at her._

_He saw Himari biting her nails while reading some papers and Levi just watched with a faint smirk._

_After some time, the trial ended with the judge setting the verdict, charging the female defendant guilty of murdering her husband._

_As the final verdict was set, the audience were beginning to leave._

_Himari, who was a university student, was here for the trial as part of her work experience. Since she was finishing her course at university very soon, the female had to do several hours of work experience. So Himari had asked her friend, who was the female attorney for this case, if she could just help out with things at the office and the older woman had agreed to it._

_The short female had read through this case, so the verdict that she had just heard was not what she had expected._

_"Oi Mister, how can you charge her of being guilty when she was also the victim?", Himari snapped at the judge._

_Barely any audience members remained at the seats, two males in the middle row and one man was leaving the room._

_Except for the male judge, there was the defendant's attorney, a female who was old friends with Himari._

_The judge looked at the short female._

_"How dare you protest against my judgement?", the judge said._

_"She was treated less than a human in the 10 years of her marriage.", Himari said._

_"Himari.", the defence attorney tried to calm her friend down but the short female just shrugged off the older girl's arm._

_"And that justifies her killing her husband?", the judge asked._

_He picked up his papers._

_"She fled but he tracked her down, then trampled onto her until she got several broken ribs.", Himari said, "And he beat her up with a belt like she was an animal.", she said._

_"She deserved the beating!", the judge snapped._

_Himari stared at the man, slightly shocked by his words._

_"Who the hell are you anyway?", he snapped._

_"The defendant got stabbed by the husband too.", Himari snapped at the man, "Did it not happen because she was defending herself from him?", she snapped at the older man who was beginning to leave._

_Himari did not think that the verdict was fair._

_The defendant had clearly been suffering her entire life, but this judge charges her for being guilty when it wasn't the woman's fault at all._

_He scoffed as he stood in front of the door, before walking back to where Himari was standing._

_"Are you taking her side because you're a woman too?", the man said._

_Although the man was taller, Himari did not flinch from the intimidating height._

_"Answer me.", the judge said before he scoffed, "This is why women shouldn't do anything.", he said, "They don't know their place.", he spat, "Filling the courtroom with the smell of make-up.", he clicked his tongue._

_The two males who were sitting in the audience seats, didn't seem to have any plans of leaving._

_Levi had his arms folded over his chest as he watched the argument between the judge and the female._

_The judge was clearly a sexist and an unfair man._

_"Hey, security guards.", the man looked at the two guards at the back of the room, "What are you doing?", he said, "Get her out of here.", the judge said before heading to the door once again._

_"It's not because I'm a woman.", Himari said, "It's because your verdict is wrong.", she said._

_The judge turned around again, walking back to the female._

_"I am different from you lot.", the man said, "The verdict that I have made is the same as God's decision-", he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Himari punched the man across the face._

_Her hit had caused the man to fall on the floor as he clutched onto his bleeding nose while he looked up at her with wide eyes._

_"Just because you're a judge, doesn't mean that you're always right!", Himari snapped at the man on the floor._

_The two guards were running down the aisle of rows before Levi, who had been sitting at the end of a row, stuck his leg out. Both guards tripped over and landed on their faces as Levi continued to watch Himari with a smirk on his face._

_ **An hour later...** _

_Himari had been locked up in a cell for hitting the judge, which the female did not regret of doing._

_She was finally released and had heard from her attorney friend that someone asked for her release without it being put into her records._

_Though the short female wasn't given the name of the person who had asked for her release._

_She didn't know that Levi had been the one to ask Erwin to get the younger girl released._

_As the female headed out of the building, she looked at her phone when she received a text._

_Himari sighed once reading the text message._

_She wasn't aware of walking past Levi and Furlan, both males staring back at the girl who walked past them._

_"It looks like she lost her job.", Furlan said._

_Levi watched the female's sulking face as she walked past, not having noticed his presence._

_Indeed, Himari had lost a job offer._

_After graduating, Himari would've gotten a job at an IT company which she had gotten an offer from, but after this incident had been made aware to the managers, they had cancelled their offer with her._

_Himari scratched the back of her head with a small pout, since the female had really wanted this job._

_"What would she think of working at our office?", Levi asked quietly._

**...**

_ **Now 2 years later...** _ **[Levi aged 27, Himari aged 22]**

_Levi hadn't seen or heard anything about Himari at all, for 2 long years after the courtroom incident._

_During these two years, the raven haired male had been constantly pestered by Hanji, who had tried to set him up with dates, although he would reject each one of the girls after the first meeting._

_The male just wasn't interested as his mind always seemed to compare each of the girls that he had met with Himari, who he had seen two years ago._

_Levi didn't believe in Hanji's idea of love and fate, until that morning when he was introduced to yet another date._

_The male had assumed that it would be the same old thing all over again, that he'd just have a drink or meal with the female before, like every other date that he's had, they would reject him, saying that he's a cold-hearted person._

_But Levi didn't expect the female who walked in through the café doors._

_Seeing Himari being dragged in, Levi stared at her before looking back at Hanji, who grinned at him while giving the thumbs up._

_The raven haired male wasn't going to assume things as he drank his coffee while looking out of the window._

_When he looked at the female who took a seat opposite him, Levi couldn't help but feel his heart flutter just by seeing her after so many years._

_His steel grey eyes scanned over her face, just relishing her beauty as he brought his attention to his coffee so that he didn't look like a weirdo while staring at her._

_While getting rejected, Levi couldn't help but smirk at this because unlike the other girls, Himari had not rejected him for his personality._

_The raven haired male headed to his car in quite a good mood and even though he had just been blatantly rejected, Levi was happy._

_Arriving back at his workplace, Hanji had arrived soon after._

_"I'll set you up with another girl-", Levi interrupted the scientist._

_"The girl just now.", Levi said, "Himari Matsuzaki.", he said, "What do you know about her?", he asked._

_"Hmm, she works at the nearby pharmaceutical company with my friend.", Hanji began, "Rents an apartment in the same building as Ymir, though I think Himari has a roommate.", she paused, "Oh yeah, I heard that she had been in a relationship before breaking up just 4 months ago.", the scientist said._

_This got Levi to frown._

_"A relationship?", Levi repeated, not liking the sound of that._

_"From what I heard, I think the guy broke up with her.", Hanji said with a small frown, "Not sure about the details though.", she said._

_Levi seemed to be deep in thought._

_"Anyways, why are you interested in her?", Hanji asked, "Don't tell me you like her?", she asked._

_Levi looked at the scientist with a faint smirk on his face before he headed upstairs to his office._

_"Find me her workplace address.", Levi told Hanji as he went upstairs._

**...**

**Now back to the present...**

Levi opened his eyes from having the flashbacks of the previous events. 

His steel grey eyes went to the door as he recalled what had happened after his confession.

**...**

_"Isn't it obvious?", Levi asked._

_Himari looked up at him when she heard his voice so close to her. The female then tilted her head at the question and Levi could see the confusion in her eyes._

_The raven haired male didn't realise that she would be this slow in realising the hints that he had dropped. Even his colleagues seemed to be aware of his feelings, yet the 22-year-old was practically clueless._

_It didn't help with the fact that she didn't remember him from 17 years ago, and although their friendship wasn't for long, they had become quite close before having to separate for personal reasons._

_Only Levi seemed to remember his childhood friend since she held a special place in his heart._

_"It's because I'm in love with you.", Levi said quite bluntly._

_There was no way that Levi could be anymore obvious than this._

_The room was dead silent as the two just stared at each other, Levi waiting to hear her response while Himari processed his words._

_Himari blinked after the few seconds of silence._

_Finally being aware of the words that had just been uttered, her whole face erupted into the shade of a tomato._

_As fast as lightning, Himari had run out of the room without a single glance back._

_Levi soon facepalmed as the tips of his ears turned red from embarrassment._

**...**

Now sitting at his desk, Levi wondered what he should do next.

He clearly hadn't planned this confession and he definitely didn't expect the reaction that he had received from the female.

So now, the detective was at a loss for words.

_It seems that this was the first time that Levi Ackerman was getting confused because of a female._


	16. Chapter 16

**The next day...**

Himari had barely managed to get some sleep because of what Levi had said.

After hearing the sudden confession, it took the female a minute or so to process those words, then felt her whole face heat up before she ran out of the room without saying anything.

The female just didn't know what to do after hearing the love confession, because after all, this was the first time that someone had said that they're in love with her.

Himari had told Mikasa what had happened after they got home and asked the older girl what to do. But the raven haired girl seemed to be at a loss for words as well, having no idea how to help Himari. 

Mikasa had only expected that the male held feelings for Himari but she did _not_ expect the detective to say that he was in love with her friend, so the older girl was just as speechless as Himari.

During lunch in the canteen, Himari decided to ask the rest of her friends about it, although she had no intention of telling them that Levi had confessed to her since they would just tease her about it.

"Say hypothetically speaking, a guy says that he's in love with you.", Himari said.

Her friends stared at her and the short female quickly continued.

"Well I was reading this story, about how this guy confessed his love for this girl, who he hadn't known for long.", Himari quickly lied, "Would that be considered as strange?", she asked.

Himari had asked Mikasa to keep it a secret from the others.

"Hmm, would it be weird?", Sasha thought out loud with a mouthful of food, "Depends, is the guy good-looking?", she asked.

"Err...yeah, he is.", Himari said as she hid her blush while thinking about Levi.

"So a good-looking guy confesses his love for a girl.", Sasha reworded it, "I wouldn't say it's strange then.", she said.

"Why?", Himari tilted her head.

"Because he's good-looking.", Sasha said.

"Huh?", she frowned slightly at this, not understanding the reasoning.

"Well think about it Himari.", Ymir began, "A good-looking guy doesn't need to confess, to get a girl.", she said.

"It's like this.", Sasha continued, "Say if I have fried chicken and fried eggs, what would most people go for?", she asked.

Himari raised her eyebrow at this, wondering why this had turned into an example with food.

Although this was no surprise since this was Sasha we're talking about.

"The fried chicken obviously.", Sasha said, "Why? Because most people prefer chicken over eggs.", she said.

"Okay?", Himari said in a confused tone, "What does that have to do with the guy?", she asked.

"Wait, where was I going with this?", Sasha seemed to have confused herself by using food as an example.

Ymir sighed as she took over.

"I think what Sasha was trying to say is that a good-looking guy could get any girl he wants without needing to try.", Ymir said, "We don't see it often where handsome guys chase after girls since women would naturally flock around the man because he's so good-looking.", she said, "Whether he gets dumped or not is a whole other issue.", Ymir said.

Himari listened to the older girl.

"But if it was the case where a handsome guy chases after one single girl, then that means it's very special.", Ymir said, "After all, it could most likely be his first love.", she said.

Himari's eyes widened a slight fraction before she quickly returned back to her normal expression so that the short female didn't get caught out by her friends.

"What does that mean then?", Himari asked, keeping her eyes on her food as she picked up a piece of meat with the pair of chopsticks.

"This means that for the handsome man, his attention is solely on that one girl because she means more to him than anyone in the world.", Ymir said, "In his eyes, she's probably the only woman he sees.", she paused, "Kinda how that detective looks at you.", the older girl said.

Himari began coughing at those last words as she looked at Ymir with tears in her eyes.

"W-What?", the short female stuttered.

The younger girl began to panic while wondering if her friends had heard about Levi's confession.

"Oh come on Himari, that guy only has his eyes on you.", Ymir said.

"Eh?", Himari's cheeks began to redden.

"Remember when he was waiting for you, I was trying to start a conversation, asking him where Hanji was. That guy seemed very keen to brush me away while his attention had been on you the whole time.", Ymir said, "Asking you out for dinner was more important to him than any other conversation.", she said.

Himari's cheeks were blazing hot as she quietly ate her meal.

"Well I'm pretty sure that detective is interested in you.", Ymir said, "But ignoring men for now, I think it's time for us girls to have some quality time together.", she said, "With all the messed up stuff that's been happening the past few weeks, it's probably time for us to relax now.", the older girl.

"But we have work tomorrow.", Krista said.

"We don't have to stay out so late.", Ymir said.

Krista nodded at this.

"How about we have dinner then go out drinking?", Sasha asked. 

"Great idea.", Ymir said, "You girls in?", she asked.

"Doesn't sound so bad.", Mikasa shrugged.

The rest of the girls looked at Himari.

"I guess it's fine.", Himari said.

Then it was decided.

The group of girls were going to enjoy tonight after having gone through a whole load of stress for the past few weeks now.

...

**Close to 7PM...**

Himari decided on simple [clothes](https://pin.it/blkxhqdnzscjkm) to wear, then having done her long hair up into two cute buns [hairstyle](https://pin.it/i276tnsevx2x3h), she decided not to go with make-up since the short female rarely uses it unless it's for special occasions.

Ymir, Sasha and Krista had come over to Himari's and Mikasa's apartment after the three girls had gotten ready early.

The doorbell rang and since Himari was in her room, it was Ymir who had come to open the door.

Standing outside, Ymir found her friend, Hanji, along with the rest of her colleagues.

"Hanji!", Ymir smiled at her friend, "What are you doing here?", she asked.

"Ymir, this is your place?", the scientist asked with slight confusion.

"Nah, we're just a few doors away.", Ymir pointed down the corridor, "This is Mikasa's and Himari's place.", she said.

"Are they in?", Hanji asked.

"Yep, just getting changed.", Ymir said, "Although if this about your case, could that wait another time, we're going out for dinner.", she said.

"It's not about that.", Hanji said.

Having had enough of hearing the females' conversation, Levi spoke up.

"Can I see Himari?", Levi asked.

Ymir looked at Levi, giving a small nod.

"Himari! You have a visitor!", Ymir shouted out.

"Give me a minute!", the younger girl was heard calling back from one of the bedrooms.

"So what exactly brings all of you here?", Ymir asked as she looked at the group of detectives.

It was odd seeing not just one of the detectives but the whole team.

"We had some errands to run nearby.", Hanji said.

"Oh I see.", Ymir said.

Himari finished fixing up her hair as she headed to the front door where her friend had said that a visitor was waiting.

The short female's hands froze while fixing her hair as she stared at the raven haired male who stood at the door with his colleagues.

Her eyes went to Ymir before looking back at the detective.

The younger female was quite speechless so it was Ymir who spoke up to fill in the silence.

"Himari, Levi's here to see you.", Ymir said.

"Err...okay.", Himari muttered quietly.

Himari's eyes avoided looking at Levi the whole time, and the 22-year-old was more than glad when Sasha came to interrupt the awkward atmosphere that was slowly building up.

"So who's ready for dinner?", Sasha exclaimed, pausing when she saw the detectives, "Oh, we have visitors.", she said.

The brunette looked at Ymir.

"We're not going out?", Sasha asked.

"No we are.", Ymir said, "Let's walk outside.", she said.

As all the girls walked out of the apartment, Himari waited with Mikasa by the door as the raven haired girl locked their apartment door.

The group of detectives were walking ahead to the lift.

"Mikasa, what do I do?", Himari asked in a hushed whisper.

"Just act like you usually do.", Mikasa said quietly as the two girls headed to the lift.

The large group entered the lift and Himari felt that she could _not_ act like she usually does as she could feel the male's gaze but she tried her best not to make any eye contact with him.

Once outside of the apartment complex, Ymir looked back at the detectives.

"Hey, if it's not important, could you come by another day since we'd like to enjoy our night out.", Ymir said.

Himari sighed quietly at this, feeling relieved that her friend was sending them away.

"You're welcome to join us if you like, although no questioning allowed.", Ymir said.

The short female stiffened once hearing this.

Hanji glanced at Levi, the raven haired male giving a small nod.

"We'll tag along then.", Hanji said with a grin.

Himari finally looked at Levi, the male's eyes moving from the scientist then to the short female.

The 22-year-old quickly diverted her eyes somewhere else.

"Let's go and eat!", Sasha said, leading the way to the restaurant.

The group walked to the restaurant since it wasn't that far away, with Furlan, Isabel and Armin taking the vehicles as the detectives had arrived at the apartment complex by cars.

Levi, Hanji and Eren followed the group of five girls.

The raven haired male looked at Himari, knowing full well that the short female was trying to ignore him to the best of her abilities. 

But the detective wasn't going to let his confession be ignored so he had wanted to see her, to sort things out with her, though he hadn't expected Himari and her friends to go out tonight.

Levi's words had caught at the back of his throat once he saw the younger girl all dressed up. His racing heart would not calm down at the sight of the female's beauty.

They found a large table to dine at, taking their seats they then ordered their food.

Only now did Himari take notice of who had sat opposite her at the table, as her eyes were met by a pair of steel grey eyes.

The female looked at the seating arrangement at the table. Sitting on the same row as Himari, there was Mikasa beside her, then Krista, Hanji, Isabel and Armin. On the other side of the table, there was Levi who sat opposite Himari, next to the male was Ymir, then Sasha, Furlan and Eren.

It was a strange combination to see the detectives mixing with the group of girls.

Himari fidgeted with the ends of her sleeves as she tried to keep her eyes away from Levi. The raven haired male did not take his eyes off the nervous girl, finding it quite amusing how she behaved around him.

Food was finally served and everyone dug in, their chatters began as they talked about random things.

The atmosphere was slowly loosening up, no one was tense with having to dine with the detectives. Even Himari had relaxed, having completely forgotten about what Levi had said the previous day.

Well everything _seemed_ to be going well until Himari had accidentally eaten a piece of chilli.

"Wait Himari that's-", Ymir was too late in warning the girl as the short female had already eaten it.

The reaction was quite amusing to watch.

Tears welled up in Himari's eyes as she began fanning her mouth since it was so spicy.

"Hot! Hot!", tears fell from Himari's eyes before a glass of water was handed to her.

The female quickly gulped down the water, almost finishing the whole glass of water as she finally released a small breath.

"Seriously, you have the tastebuds of a child.", Ymir shook her head with a small smile.

"T'ch.", Himari clicked her tongue as Mikasa handed her a napkin.

The short female wiped away her tears, stiffening before she looked at Mikasa.

'If the napkin is from Mikasa then the water-', Himari looked in front of her as Levi looked away with an amused smirk.

The raven haired male had almost chuckled out loud at the short female's reaction to spicy food.

A mere piece of chilli had gotten the 22-year-old in tears.

Himari placed the glass down on the table as she looked away in slight embarrassment.

...

Once they all ate their meals, the group headed out once again, the five girls were heading to a nightclub now.

"Maybe you guys shouldn't be drinking when we have work tomorrow.", Himari said.

"It'll be fine since we have you to look after us.", Ymir said.

"But you'll have hangover tomorrow morning.", Himari said.

"Don't worry Himari.", Ymir pushing Himari by her shoulders and into the nightclub, "Maybe we could find some guys as well.", she said.

"Ah but-", Himari was cut off as the five girls headed into nightclub.

The group of detectives, however, did not go in.

"We're going to head back now.", Isabel said, since they still had a lot of work to do back at their office.

"Looks like they'll be with guys tonight.", Hanji said.

Levi clicked his tongue as he walked to his car and removed his suit jacket.

"We'll leave the cars here.", Armin said.

Isabel, Armin and Eren headed back to their workplace while Levi, Furlan and Hanji stayed behind.

Hanji grinned when she saw what Levi was doing.

"Himari will be in for a treat.", the scientist said.

...

Walking into the club with loud music, the group of girls went to find seats.

Himari didn't mind clubs but that was only to a certain extent. The short female wasn't fond of the loud music and the smell of alcohol which was being emitted from almost every single person in the club.

As the 22-year-old sat at a booth with the rest of her friends, she glanced around the room at the people who were dancing.

"Aren't the detectives coming in?", Himari asked Mikasa who sat beside her.

"Are you concerned about the detectives or just one particular detective?", Mikasa asked with an amused smirk.

Himari blushed lightly as she looked away while clicking her tongue.

"Well they ate with us, that's why I'm asking.", Himari mumbled which only got Mikasa to smile.

"But it looks like they are coming in.", Mikasa said, having caught a glimpse of the scientist.

Himari's eyes went to the entrance of the club, first seeing Hanji then Furlan, before her eyes stopped at Levi.

The raven haired male had removed his suit jacket and his tie.

His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing the few veins which bulged out to the surface of his skin because of his muscular form. The top two buttons of his shirt had been unbuttoned, his toned chest being revealed in an almost teasing manner.

With a full suit, the male was already attractive enough, but with this formal-casual change, the detective was now in a whole other level as many gazes were upon him.

"Woah.", Himari said out loud for only to be kicked under the table by Mikasa.

The short female quickly cleared her throat as she looked away, feeling her cheeks heat up at the reaction that she had made after seeing the raven haired male.

Her friends were already ordering drinks, not having heard what Himari had said which the short female was glad of.

When the detectives arrived, Himari's eyes fell on Levi once again, and the female stiffened once he made eye contact with her.

The booth that the five girls were sitting in, was big enough for three more people. So with Hanji and Furlan joining one side of booth, Levi walked towards Himari.

She looked up at him, the male clearly wanting to sit beside her.

Mikasa moved up, then Himari moved along, gulping silently as Levi sat beside her.

The short female was pretty much tense with Levi sitting next to her.

Drinks was served at their table and Himari glanced at the glasses of beer which seemed to make the female uncomfortable. 

Out of all the alcoholic drinks, Himari disliked the smell of beer the most, which made her feel sick to the stomach.

She looked at her friends who grabbed their glasses.

"Aren't you drinking?", Ymir asked Hanji.

"As much as I'd like to, I have an early morning tomorrow.", Hanji said.

"Then why did you lot come in?", Sasha asked, having almost finished her pint of beer.

"To keep you girls company.", Hanji replied with a grin.

Feeling that her stomach won't be able to handle the smell anymore, Himari got to her feet.

"Can I get past?", Himari asked Levi.

The raven haired male stood up, allowing the female to walk out of the booth.

"Where are you going?", Levi asked.

"Restroom.", Himari replied, heading towards the restroom so that she could wash her face, to get rid of the smell that was going to make her throw up very soon.

"Does your friend not drink?", Hanji asked.

"She's not good with alcohol sold in this kind of environment, although this is her first time going out with us to drink at a nightclub.", Sasha said.

"Himari hates the smell of beer the most, I should probably check up on her.", Mikasa stood up.

"I think that's already being taken care of.", Hanji replied with a small smile.

Mikasa only now noticed that Levi was nowhere in sight, the raven haired male having followed the short female so that she didn't get hit on by other men, while on the way to the restroom.

The raven haired girl sat back down.

...

Himari had reached the female restroom, not being aware that Levi had followed a small distance behind.

But when the short female opened the door to the restroom, Himari froze at the sight she saw.

The 22-year-old witnessed a couple making out by the sink and Himari quickly walked back out with a red face.

She clicked her tongue as she scratched the back of her head, wondering why a male was in the female toilets and to make matters worse, Himari was slightly flustered after seeing the two all over each other. 

Himari shook away those thoughts and was about to head back to the booth where her friends were when she saw Levi standing in the small corridor.

His arms were folded over his chest as he leant against the wall, while waiting for the female.

Levi looked at Himari.

"Didn't you want to use the restroom?", Levi asked, after having seen Himari quickly walk out as soon as she had walked in.

"Err...y-yeah, there's just a few p-people in there.", Himari feeling slightly uncomfortable to tell Levi what was happening inside.

Levi stood up and walked over to her.

Being able to tell that something was making Himari uncomfortable, the detective was going to check it out.

"Is there a male inside?", Levi asked, knowing full well that this kind of thing was common in nightclubs.

The raven haired male was already opening the door to the female restroom.

"Ah wait-", Himari caught a glimpse of the couple inside as she quickly looked away.

Levi looked at the couple before looking back at Himari.

Seeing how Himari diverted her eyes away, the raven haired male clicked his tongue while turning his attention back to the couple.

"Oi brats.", Levi said coldly.

The detective's voice made the two jump away from each other.

"Get out.", Levi said.

"Who are-", the male that had been inside the restroom with his girlfriend froze as he saw the dark aura around Levi.

The male gulped as he stared at the detective.

"Do I need to repeat myself?", Levi asked while glaring at the two.

"No sir.", the couple said in sync, now petrified by the raven haired male as they practically ran out of the door.

"It's empty now.", Levi's tone had gone back to being gentle when he spoke to Himari as he walked out of the restroom.

Himari looked at the raven haired male, a small smile on her face as he walked past her.

The 22-year-old walked into the empty restroom, looking back at the closed door with an almost shy smile.

The female headed to the sink to wash her face, the sick feeling in her stomach having disappeared a while ago.

...

After drying her face, Himari walked out of the restroom, to find that Levi had waited for her the whole time.

As they headed back to the booth, the short female was unaware of the gazes she received from other males.

Although Levi's glare sent all the men scrambling away, none of them having the guts to approach the female since a certain detective had a deathly glare on his face.

Himari reached their table and was left surprised once seeing her drunk friends.

Sasha was fully intoxicated as she brought another glass of beer to her lips.

The short female quickly took it off the brunette's hand.

"I think you've had enough.", Himari said.

"One more.", Sasha whined.

"We should head back now.", Himari said, "Mikasa.", she called her raven haired friend who helped Sasha to her feet.

Ymir and Krista were drunk as well but not as bad as Sasha who could barely stand on her own feet without having to lean on Mikasa. As for the raven haired girl, she had two drinks but seemed to be quite alright.

The group of girls headed out of the nightclub, Himari finally relaxing once she breathed in the fresh air.

The short female rubbed her arms, feeling the night air was making her slightly chilly. Wearing a skirt, of course, didn't help with the colder temperature but it wasn't to the point where she was freezing.

"Would you like a lift back home?", Levi asked.

Himari looked at the male.

She was still trying to avoid being alone with Levi for a prolonged time.

"Umm..it's fine, I think we'll walk back.", Himari said.

Just as she finished saying that, Sasha dropped, face first, on the ground. The brunette clearly had too much to drink and now she had passed out like a light, fast asleep on the street.

Himari sighed quietly.

There was no way that they were going to drag the sleeping girl back to the apartment.

Himari looked back at Levi with an awkward smile.

"Maybe a lift back would be great.", she said.

Levi smirked lightly at this.

In the Range Rover, Furlan, Hanji, Ymir and Krista went together while in Levi's black Lamborghini Aventador, Mikasa and Sasha sat in the back seats with Himari sitting at the front with Levi.

At first Levi had been cautious about bringing Sasha into his vehicle, worried that she'd throw up in his car but Himari assured him that once Sasha passes out after drinking, she never wakes up until the next morning.

Before Levi even started his car, he had handed Himari his jacket to use on her legs, having taken notice that she was cold when they had stepped out of the club.

With a faint smile on her face, Himari draped his jacket over her legs, already feeling warmer because of the extra clothing.

...

In the backseat, both Mikasa and Sasha had dozed off, leaving Himari and Levi in silence.

The smell of beer was beginning to rise from the two girls and before Himari could say anything, the window beside the short female was opened by the detective.

She glanced at the window before looking at Levi, whose eyes were on the road.

Himari looked at her hands with a small smile.

She knew that Levi was very kind and gentle to her, compared to how he treats everyone else. And although, Himari seemed to get along with the detective fine, a part of her was still confused as to why the male had confessed to her.

Himari didn't understand why he was in love with her, and what was even more confusing, the female was pretty sure that the male had known her longer than when Ymir had set them up on their date.

With things still being confusing for the female, Himari was still unsure of what to make of Levi's confession.

They arrived at the apartment complex and Mikasa climbed out of the vehicle while helping Sasha out.

Himari took off her seatbelt and was about to hand the jacket back to Levi when the raven haired male spoke up once it was just the two of them in the vehicle.

"May I speak to you for a few minutes?", Levi asked.

Himari looked up at the raven haired male as Levi turned to look at the short female.


	17. Chapter 17

"May I speak to you for a few minutes?", Levi asked as he turned to look at the female.

Himari looked up at him, feeling herself becoming tense at the mere thought of being left alone with the detective since she hadn't yet sorted out her thoughts.

"Err...l-like right now?", the female awkwardly asked.

Once tense, Himari becomes quite the awkward and stiff person.

Levi switched off his car engine and Himari gulped as she looked away.

The female's body was heating up, not knowing what to do in a situation like this.

"You've been avoiding, haven't you?", Levi asked bluntly.

He wanted to get straight to the point since going around in circles was never his style.

Himari almost choked on her saliva as she looked up at the raven haired male, surprised that he had caught on so quickly when it has just been a day since his confession.

"I-I haven't.", the short female forced out a nervous laugh, "What makes you say that?", she asked.

Levi raised his eyebrow at this and Himari looked away from the male.

They sat there in silence, Himari feeling herself getting more and more tense since the silence was becoming unbearable for the female.

She really wanted to escape right now.

Himari looked back at Levi, who had been quiet the whole time, to find him staring back at her.

Her words were caught in her throat as her heart began thumping really loudly in her chest.

"M-Mister, stop staring at me like that!", Himari finally snapped out with bright red cheeks.

She turned around to leave the vehicle, to only hit her head against the window since she had completely forgotten to open the car door.

"Ow.", she mumbled while rubbing her forehead before opening the car door.

_Add clumsiness to the list when Himari gets tense and nervous._

The female stumbled out, running back into her apartment complex.

Levi blinked.

Staring at the empty seat beside him, the male looked back at the apartment building that Himari had run into.

"Staring at her like what?", Levi thought out loud with a confused expression on his face, not having realised that he had been staring at the female.

...

Once Himari was in her apartment, her face was still cooling down as she released a small sigh.

She held her hand over her chest feeling her heart racing like crazy.

The short female remembered that the detective would just end up staring at her without saying anything. And whenever her eyes gets locked with his, Himari was always left speechless as she would start getting nervous under his gaze.

The raven haired male had always done that but Himari wasn't sure whether he was doing it on purpose or not.

Locking the front door, Himari scratched the back of her head in confusion, not sure what to make of the male's behaviour as she headed to her room. Himari caught a glimpse of Mikasa lying on the sofa, fast asleep.

The short female shook her head with a small smile, throwing her bag into her room before going into Mikasa's bedroom and grabbing the older girl's blanket.

She walked back into the living room and covered it over the raven haired girl since Himari knew that she couldn't carry the older girl back to her own bedroom.

Himari closed the living room door behind her as she went back to her own bedroom. The female decided to have a quick shower before going to bed since she wanted to get rid of the alcohol smell.

**15 minutes later...**

Himari walked into her bedroom, hanging her towel on a hanger before walking over to her desk where her phone was.

She saw that she had received a text message from one of her colleague so the female opened up the app to read the text.

The 22-year-old stared at the screen.

Apparently Miss. Maniwa's funeral was taking place at 7.15PM tomorrow, and almost everyone was attending since she was a manager at their company.

It was to show their respect after all.

Himari sat down on a chair as she placed her phone back on her desk, the female's thoughts going back to the day when Petra handed the younger girl a folder.

_**"I'll get some rest very soon.", Petra said with a small smile.** _

'Rest.', Himari repeated to herself, 'It's almost like she knew that she was going to die.', she thought.

_**"Well Naomi was saying how she has a lot of work to do so I thought I'd help her out.", Petra said.** _

'Naomi.', Himari paused, remembering how the female's body had landed with a thud after falling from the great height, 'She was in on it too then.', she thought.

Himari then thought back to when her lab coat had caught on fire.

'Was it really just an accident?', Himari tried to think back to any details that she may have missed, 'Why was acetone carelessly left on top of a cupboard? Shouldn't it have been stored away safely since it's a dangerous substance?', she thought, 'And the way that several burnt out matches and equipment were just coincidentally lying there...', the 22-year-old thought.

Himari turned in her swivel chair as she logged into her laptop.

'Then there's that woman.', Himari paused yet again.

**_"You haven't started on going through this yet, have you?", Miss. Maniwa asked._ **

Himari remembered the way the woman had glanced at the folder that Petra had put on her desk and the way the older woman seemed restless because of something.

'The content of the folder must've been so important that she was stressed out about it.', Himari thought. 

But the 22-year-old hadn't paid much attention to these details since it had never crossed her mind that it'd be a problem like this.

'And now we have this medicine.', Himari looked at the laptop screen.

From what she had told Levi, it was a medicine to help children who have a terminal illness. The drug had been on trial on lots of patients, and only three months after the trials, some patients had began to show side effects.

Side effects included nails peeling off, blisters around the mouth, coughing out blood, eyes looking as if they were ready to buldge out, and even in some cases where patients bled from their ears.

After the side effects were present, the end result had been death.

Many terminally ill patients have died, having thought that they can be cured with this new medicine.

Himari had only found out after finishing with the translation that since these side effects weren't noted down during the trials, once this medicine gets approved and sold into the market, thousands of children could die because of this.

It had been a real shock for Himari as she read this and when she found the name of the doctor who had written about the side effects, she had searched him up.

Another shock that she had received was that the man had hung himself in his living room, having left a suicide note to his wife and children, who lived abroad.

From this, Himari knew that this wasn't a case of a suicide.

Neither was Naomi's case.

**_"I did see him in the corridor that day, heading in the same direction where Miss. Imara was, but I can't be certain so it's just a hunch at the moment.", Levi said._ **

The detective had been referring to the CEO's bodyguard.

'So if he did kill Naomi.', Himari thought, 'Then did he kill Miss. Maniwa?', she thought, 'What about Petra? The doctor? That police officer? The cleaner who had been poisoned? Mr. Fukui Korin, Sina's chairman? The chairman's bodyguard?', she paused.

Himari logged off from her laptop.

'Eight people. They killed eight people to keep a secret.', Himari thought with a small frown, 'And the one behind it all, that mastermind, Tsuji Kiyohisa, the CEO.', Himari paused, 'But that can't be all.', she leaned back on her chair as she looked up at the ceiling.

This case was more complicated than she had thought it was.

...

"So she's avoiding you?", Hanji said.

Levi glared at the woman for repeating what he already knew.

"Well you did confess out of nowhere.", the scientist continued with a small grin.

Another glare was sent to the woman as Levi was ready to send her out of his office.

"What you have to do now is to make sure that Himari does not think about anyone except you.", Hanji said.

This got Levi interested as he removed his eyes from the window before he turned his chair to look at the scientist.

"You should already be on her mind at the moment.", Hanji said, "Now it's to make sure that she notices you more than before.", she said.

"And how do you suppose I do that?", Levi asked.

"Don't worry, I have a plan.", Hanji replied with a grin.

This only seemed to make Levi more wary of the woman as he knew that Hanji's grin only meant bad news, though he did hope that it'd get Himari to stop avoiding him.

...

**The next morning...**

Himari had not been able to sleep properly because whenever she closed her eyes, only Levi came to mind. This would get her flustered and she found it very hard to go back to sleep.

She sighed yet again. 

This morning was quite hectic for Himari because not only did she have to wake up Mikasa but also three other girls who were hangover.

Sasha was in a much worse state compared to the other three girls but Ymir and Krista were also suffering from stomach pains, whereas Mikasa seemed alright but looked quite moody.

So for the four girls who had drunk a lot of alcohol the night before, even though Himari had warned them about the consequences, the younger girl had made them all ginger tea to help with their hungover symptoms.

Finally drinking that, and then getting ready for work, the five girls just managed to get there on time.

...

Himari stretched her arms over her head as she finished yet another lab report.

It was only eleven o'clock but time seemed to go by really slowly for the 22-year-old as she began with the next dataset.

A knock at the door didn't catch Himari's attention, but when her name was being called out, the 22-year-old removed her eyes from the computer screen, looking back at the door.

"Himari, there's a delivery for you.", one of her female colleagues that was at the door said as she returned back to her seat.

Himari pushed her glasses up her nose as she stood up and walked to the door.

At the entrance stood the delivery man, the usual guy who delivers parcels to each department.

"Miss. Himari Matsuzaki?", the man read the name off the clipboard.

The short female nodded.

He turned around and grabbed a bouquet of roses, handing it to Himari.

She stared at the bouquet in her hands with slight confusion as the delivery man asked for her signature. Himari signed on the piece of paper, wanting to ask the male if this was delivered to the right person but once he got the signature, he walked away while pushing his trolley containing the rest of his deliveries.

Himari looked back at the male before looking at the roses with a small frown. She glanced back to see that some of her colleagues in her department had been staring at her before they quickly looked away.

The short female noticed the small note that was tucked into the large bouquet and she pulled it out to read what was written on it.

**_'I want your heart because you stole mine.'_** , it said as it was signed by Levi.

Himari tilted her head as she felt herself tense up once reading the note, her cheeks beginning to heat up.

She quietly gulped, tucking the note into her pocket before returning to her seat.

Her face had not yet cooled down, clearly not having expected to be receiving these kind of things from the detective.

Himari glanced at Mikasa who was sitting several seats away, the raven haired girl met Himari's eyes before she smirked slightly since she could instantly tell from the younger girl's face, who had sent the flowers.

During lunch, it seemed that all the girls' gossip was on the flowers that had been sent to Himari.

The short female kept her head down as she sat at a table, her friends joining the younger female.

"I heard that someone sent you roses.", Sasha said with a grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about.", the short female muttered quietly under her breath.

Himari tried to concentrate on eating her food but she could _not_ get the note out of her head.

"Is it from a certain detective?", Ymir teased.

"No it's not.", the 22-year-old quickly denied.

Himari's cheeks only got warmer at this, confirming the girls' guesses as they all squealed in excitement.

"How cute is that?", Krista said with a large smile.

"See, his eyes are only on you.", Ymir said.

Himari's face just got redder at the comment.

...

**A few hours later...**

Himari was by the printer, getting a few photocopies and while she waited, the female glanced around before pulling out the note from her pocket.

As she read over the words once again, a small smile made its way onto her lips while her cheeks tinted a light shade of pink.

Himari had never been given love notes before and it was even more surprising because she had never thought it would come from Levi, whose personality doesn't seem to be associated with these cheesy words written on the small piece of paper.

...

** At the end of the work day... **

**4.30PM**

Himari and Mikasa were walking to the parking lot, the raven haired girl pausing when she saw that there was a small box placed by the wipers of the car.

Mikasa picked it up and once seeing Himari's name on it, the older female handed it to short female.

The short female glanced up at Mikasa, wondering where she had gotten it from.

"Aren't those your favourite sweets?", Mikasa asked as it was not that hard to see over Himari's shoulder.

Himari was holding a box of toffees, this having been the younger girl's favourite sweets ever since she was little.

There was a small card sticking out from the box and Himari pulled it out.

**_'I can watch you all day and never get bored.'_** , once again it was signed by Levi.

Himari's face went red as she quickly looked up at Mikasa, the raven haired girl clearing her throat as she pretended to not have read what was written on the note.

Mikasa had definitely not expected that and to avoid being awkward, she quickly got into the car.

As for the short female, not only was she left embarrassed after reading those words but even more so because she had a feeling that Mikasa would later tease her about it.

Himari's eyes went back to the note as a small smile was visible on her face once again.

...

"Shitty Glasses says some useful things once in a while.", Levi said.

The raven haired male had parked his car in a way that he'd be able to see the younger girl's reaction. 

At first, Levi had no idea what to write in those notes, Hanji having told him to write something really sweet for Himari.

The detective had spent hours thinking of something to write, something that didn't involve any swear words or insults which he was so used to giving his colleagues.

But whenever Levi thought about Himari, his thoughts would just end up filled about her, completely forgetting what he was supposed to do.

Writing those two notes was quite hard for him since he was _not_  the kind of man to say those cheesy words out loud.

But since this was written down, Levi knew that the female wouldn't be able to see his face so he went along with the sweetest things that he could think of whenever Himari came to mind.

Although those notes were nowhere near to show just how much love he held for Himari.

But once seeing that small smile on Himari's face, the male's eyes softened as he watched the short female get into the car with her friend.

Levi _could_ really watch her the whole day without getting bored.

_Heck, he could watch her for eternity._

...

It was close to evening as Kai Junichi, the CEO's bodyguard, headed in his car to meet someone. He parked his car on the side, walking to the local restaurant that he was supposed to meet the individual at.

Kai already found the man sitting at the table, with a glass of alcohol beside him and a plate of grilled pork.

The bodyguard joined the man at the table.

"What happened to your face?", that was Kai's first question as he saw the man's bruised face.

"Some bastard almost beat the shit out of me for touching his girlfriend.", the man replied.

"That's what you get for laying your hands on someone else's girlfriend.", Kai said as he poured himself a drink, "You never learn, do you?", he said, filling his plate up with grilled pork as well. 

"But it wasn't just any girl.", the man said before leaning over the table to whisper something, "Remember that blonde girl from that night?", he paused, "Petra Ral, if I remember correctly.", he said.

Kai paused with his chopsticks in his hands as he looked at the man sitting opposite him.

"What about her?", Kai asked.

"The girl that was with the dead girl that night.", the man said, "I saw her in the subway with her boyfriend a few nights ago.", he said.

Kai frowned slightly.

"That cleaner is no more now.", the bodyguard said.

The other man sighed as he shook his head.

"No, not the cleaner.", the man said, "It was a girl, maybe much younger than Ral.", he said.

The bodyguard was seen to pause as he thought back to the other female who had been with Petra, except for the cleaner.

"Himari Matsuzaki.", Kai said quietly.

"Well I don't know her name, but I'm pretty sure that she saw me that night.", the man said.

"But she was not a witness.", Kai said, remembering the CEO telling him that someone else had been the witness and had asked him to find the woman to finish her off, which he had done obviously.

"You're wrong there, Kai.", the man said, "That night in the subway, she seemed to recognise me when she saw me. I had dropped by the detectives' workplace since you asked, but I didn't except to see that girl when I ran off.", he said.

"She recognised you?", Kai asked.

The man nodded.

"I was going to finish her off that night since that would only bring us trouble but her boyfriend intervened.", the man said, "For someone his height, I actually thought that I was going to get killed back there.", he said with a huff.

"Boyfriend?", Kai's eyes widened, "You don't mean the male with the raven hair, do you?", he asked.

"Of course it's him.", the man said, "Why? Do you know him?", he asked.

"You idiot!", Kai snapped at the man, the two males receiving glances from the nearby tables, "I told you, not to do anything without asking me.", the man snapped in anger, lowering down his voice a little.

"I was only trying to help.", the man reasoned.

"That guy who beat you up is a detective!", Kai said.

The man's eyes widened.

"What?", he was in shock.

"Now that you've attacked her, he'll come after you.", Kai paused as he was trying to think of a plan, "You need to go into hiding for now.", he said, "Don't come out until I say so, just go far away where no one can find you.", Kai said as he stood up while grabbing his coat.

...

Kai sat in his car, thinking what he should do next.

**_"She seemed to recognise me when she saw me.", the man's words echoed in his head._ **

"Shit!", Kai cursed under his breath with a furious face as his hands balled into fists.

Everything had been going according to plan, yet this minor mistake could bring everything down.

The bodyguard checked his watch to see what time it was.

Seeing that it was almost time for the funeral, the man drove to the cemetery where Miss. Maniwa was going to be buried.

Arriving just 20 minutes later, the bodyguard walked up to the CEO's side, just standing behind him as his eyes searched for a certain female.

Kai finally spotted Himari, as everyone watched Miss. Maniwa's coffin being lowered into the ground.

Himari had removed her eyes from the priest as she looked around, before her eyes fell on the CEO then to the bodyguard who stood behind the tall man.

'You did this.' Himari thought, 'You all did this.', she thought.

**_"There might be another mole at the company."_** , **_the bodyguard remembered telling his boss._**

'Then the mole?', Kai thought, as he watched Himari being called by one of her friends, the female turning her attention away from him.


End file.
